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THE 


ANTEDILUVIAN  HISTORY, 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  FLOOD; 


AS  SET  FORTH  IN  THE  EARLY  PORTIONS  OF  THE 
BOOK  OF  GENESIS. 


CRITICALLY  EXAMINED   AND   EXPLAINED. 


BY 


31EV.  E.  D,  RENDELL, 

Q^    PBESTON. 


'^H*  tbat  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

Rbt.  ii.  29. 


FBOM    THE    LONDON    EDITION. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  BY  OTIS  CLAPP, 

23   School    Street. 
1852. 


CONTENTS 


rAOB 

Preface 5 

Chapter  I. 
Introduction.  —  General  Structure  of  the  Narrative 15 

Chapter  II. 
General  Structure  of  the  Narrative  —  continued 30 

Chapter  III. 
Original  State  of  Man  —  The  Successive  Development  of  his  Mental 
and  Spiritual  Powers  —  His  Duty  and  Prerogative  as  an  Image 
of  God  — The  Excellency  of  Every  Thing  that  was  Made 39 

Chapter  IV. 
The  Seventh  Day,  a  Celestial  State  of  Man 60 

Chapter  V. 
Adam  a  Religious  Community  —  Eden,  with  its  Garden  and  Eastern 
Situation  —  How  to  be  Kept 65 

Chapter  VI. 
The  Trees  of  the  Garden :  specifically  the  Tree  of  Life,  and  the  Tree 
of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil 79 

Chapter  VII. 
The  River  of  Eden,  and  its  being  Parted  into  Four  Heads 87 

Chapter  VIII. 
Adam  Naming  the  Living  Creatures 97 

Chapter  IX. 
Its  not  being  Good  that  Adam  should  be  Alone  —  His  Deep  Sleep  — 
The  Taking  of  a  Rib  from  Him  and  Building  it  into  a  "Woman. .  106 

Chapter  X. 
The  Serpent  and  its  Deception 115 


4  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  XI. 
The  Eating  of  the  Forbidden  Fruit  and  Expulsion  from  Eden 132 

Chapteb  XII. 
The  Curse  upon  the  Serpent  —  The  Sorrows  of  the  Woman  — And 
the  Curse  upon  the  Ground  for  Man's  sake 141 

Chapter  XIII. 
Cain  and  Abel,  with  their  Occupations 152 

Chapter  XIV. 
The  Offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel :  why  the  Offering  of  Abel  was  Re- 
spected, and  that  of  Cain  Rejected 167 

Chapter  XV. 
The  Death  of  Abel  —  The  Curse  on  Cain ;  His  Fugitive  and  Vaga- 
bond Condition 176 

Chapter  XVI. 
Cain's  Complaint  and  Apprehensions  —  The  Mark  set  upon  Him  for 
his  Preservation 189 

Chapter  XVII. 
The  Land  of  Nod  —  Cain's  Son  —  The  Building  of  a  City  and  calling 
it  after  the  Name  of  his  Son,  Enoch 202 

Chapter  XVIII. 
The  Birth  of  Seth  —  The  Longevity  of  His  Descendants  —  And  the 
"Translation"  of  Enoch 217 

Chapter  XIX. 
The  Corruptions  of  the  Antediluvian  "World  —  The  Sons  of  God 
taking  to  themselves  Wives  of  the  Daughters  of  Men 232 

Chapter  XX. 
The  Giants  that  were  in  the  Antediluvian  World  —  and  the  Repent- 
ance of  the  Lord  that  he  had  made  Man 248 

Chapter  XXI. 
The  Ark — Noah  and  his  Family  Entering  into  it  —  The  Beasts 
#    Preserved  therein 261 

Chapter  XXII. 
The  Deluge,  and  the  Death  of  all  Flesh  but  those  who  Entered  into 
the  Ark 284 


.  r 


PREFACE 


A  SATISFACTORY  explanation  of  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis, 
has  become  a  desideratum  in  the  church ;  for  there  is  no  fact  in 
its  history  better  established,  than  that  the  Mosaic  accounts  of  the 
creation  and  the  deluge  are  no  longer  considered  to  express  those 
sentiments,  which,  for  many  ages,  they  have  been  supposed  to  do. 
What  used  to  be  regarded  as  "  orthodox  "  upon  those  subjects,  has 
been  compelled  to  recede  before  the  light  of  rational  investigation 
and  scientific  discovery.  This  is  admitted  by  men  with  first-class 
minds,  —  minds  stored  with  erudition  and  piety,  —  persons  whose 
veneration  for,  and  belief  in,  revelation  are  far  above  suspicion ; 
—  professors  in  our  national  universities,  and  other  institutions  for 
the  dissemination  of  religion  and  learning.  A  decree,  therefore, 
has  gone  forth  against  the  old  notions  upon  these  subjects :  the 
old  vessels  have  been  efiectually  broken ;  and  all,  who  carefully 
examine  the  fragments,  are  convinced  that  it  is  impossible  to  repair 
them.  It  is  true,  that  several  new  ones  have  been  attempted  to 
be  made,  on  some  modified  ideas  of  the  literal  sense  of  those  an- 
cient writings ;  but  an  intelligent  inspection  of  them  has  shown 
that  they  also  are  marred  and  full  of  flaws,  so  that  there  has 
ceased  to  be  any  authorized  interpretation  of  those  extraordinary 
documents. 

In  this  dilemma,  the  old  opinions  continue  to  be  taught  to  the 
■  rising  generations,  by  which  their  minds  must  be  prejudiced  in 
favor  of  a  mistaken  judgment  This,  doubtless,  produces  no  little 
uneasiness  and  alarm  among  those,  who  know  them  to  be  untrue. 
The  influences,  which  have  exposed  the  errors,  have  not  yet  be- 
come sufficiently  powerful  to  check  their  progress.  This  is  to  be 
lamented ;  but  it  is  one  of  the  consequences  of  not  having  sup- 
plied such  new  interpretations  of  the  subject,  as  may  be  safely 
adopted  in  their  place.  The  old  errors  may  as  well  be  taught  as 
any  new  one,  if  teachings  must  be  enforced  on  the  subject,  before 
any  more  satisfactory  views  can  be  established.  But  why  the 
teaching  of  demonstrated  errors  should  be  persisted  in,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine.  It  is  admitted,  that  the  work  of  him  who  would 
instruct  society,  is  not  completed  by  pulling  down  the  building, 
1* 


6  PREFACE. 

which  he  has  discovered  to  be  dangerous, — he  is  not  to  make  a 
ruin,  and  then  to  leave  it.  In  the  case  before  us,  the  materials 
remain  ;  and  he  is  required  to  erect  with  them  another  building, 
which  shall  be  more  sound  and  useful,  in  every  particular.  The 
distinguished  men  above  alluded  to  have  not  neglected  this  duty  ; 
but  they  have  not  been  successful  in  its  performance.  This  is 
evident  from  the  circumstance  of  their  respective  views  not  having 
satisfied  each  other  or  the  public.  The  reason  of  this  failure,  it  is 
believed,  is  traceable  to  a  misunderstanding  of  the  structure  and 
purpose  of  those  remarkable  narratives ;  i.  e.,  to  the  supposition 
that  they  treat  of  mundane  things. 

The  following  work  is  constructed  on  an  entirely  different  prin- 
ciple. It  has  no  pretensions  to  a  complete  exposition  of  the  sub- 
jects. The  writer  is  sensible  of  many  of  its  deficiencies,  both  in 
that  and  in  other  respects.  His  aim  has  been  to  indicate  a  course 
of  thinking,  which,  if  pursued  by  abler  minds,  may  lead  to  a  more 
satisfactory  treatment.  A  general  outline  of  the  meaning  of  those 
remarkable  documents  is  all  that  he  has  intended  to  present ;  and 
this,  of  course,  may  be  filled  up  with  such  light,  shade,  and  color- 
ing, as  the  intelligence  and  experience  of  the  reader  are  capable 
of  supplying. 

He  holds  that  the  real  divinity  of  those  extraordinary  portions 
of  revelation  can  be  most  satisfactorily  maintained,  without  mak 
ing  any  concessions  to  opinions,  which  are  offensive  to  judicious 
and  rational  thinking.  The  adoption  of  new  sentiments  concern- 
ing them  need  not  decrease  piety,  or  weaken  faith  ;  if  they  expel 
error  and  destroy  superstition,  their  uses  will  be  great.  They 
who  abandon  a  prejudice,  which  they  had  thought  to  be  an  opin- 
ion, when  some  new  truth  is  demonstrated  to  Jthem,  come  thereby' 
into  greater  liberty  and  purer  light. 

The  interpretation  of  the  first  seven  chapters  of  Genesis,  which 
IS  presented  in  this  work,  is  founded  on  the  following  general 
principle ;  namely,  that  the  letter  of  the  Word  of  God  contains 
within  it  a  spiritual  sense,  which  is  as  its  life  and  soul.  This 
principle,  it  is  believed,  will  commend  itself  to  the  soundest  judg- 
ment and  best  feelings  of  religious  and  thinking  men.  Evidences 
of  the  existence  of  this  principle  can  be  produced  from  every  page 
of  the  sacred  volume  ;  and  it  is  rationally  confirmed  by  the  cir- 
cumstance, that,  as  a  work  of  God,  it  must,  to  be  in  analogy  with 
all  other  of  His  works,  contain,  within  it,  something  more,  and 
something  different  from  tliat,  which  appears  upon  the  surface. 


PREFACE. 


7 


It  is  plain  that  tihere  must  be  a  connection  between  the  natural 
and  the  spiritual  worlds,  and  that  all  things  in  the  former  derive 
their  existence,  more  or  less  remotely,  from  some  condition  and 
activity  in  the  latter.  Now,  as  God's  primary  object  in  making  a 
revelation  to  man  is  to  furnish  him  with  the  means  of  knowing 
something  concerning  spiritual  things,  it  is  conceived,  that  he  has 
caused  to  be  employed,  in  the  writing  of  His  Word,  the  visible 
objects  of  nature,  to  express  the  spiritual  things  to  which  they 
have  some  relation.  Thus,  that  the  earth  in  general,  as  the  dwell- 
ing-place for  man's  body,  is  the  appropriate  symbol  of  that  state 
in  general,  which  is  the  residence  of  his  soul ;  and  that  all  the 
various  productions  of  the  earth,  which  the  Scriptures  mention, 
whether  of  the  animal,  the  vegetable,  or  the  mineral  kingdoms, 
are  the  types  of  some  .corresponding  principle  of  aifection  and 
thought  belonging  to  such  state,  and,  consequently,  that  they  are 
significant  of  them. 

Besides  this  law  of  correspondences,  according  to  which  it  is 
believed  the  Scriptures  are  written,  and  from  which  their  character, 
as  a  revelation,  and  their  quality,  as  to  inspiration,  derive  the  most 
ample  and  satisfactory  evidence,  there  are  also  employed,  in  their 
structure  and  composition,  representatives,  which  also  signify. 
Among  these  representative  objects,  persons  are  very  conspicu- 
ous ;  such,  for  example,  as  the  sons  of  Jacob,  the  Priests,  the 
Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah,  the  Pharaohs  of  Egypt,  the  Prophets, 
and  others.  All  these  are  considered  to  be  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  to  have  their  histories  therein  related,  because  they  were 
designed  to  represent  something  pertaining  to  the  Lord's  church 
and  kingdom.  This  idea  is,  in  some  measure,  acknowledged  in 
the  circumstance  of  many  of  these  persons  being  commonly  spoken 
of  as  types.  Every  one,  for  instance,  is  aware  that  Joseph,  who 
was  sold  into  Egypt,  in  consequence  of  certain  remarkable  inci- 
dents in  his  life,  was  representative  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
during  His  manifestation  in  the  world.  The  law  under  which 
those  representatives  were  selected,  did  not  at  all  regard  the  qual- 
ity of  the  person  representing,  but  solely  the  thing  to  be  repre- 
sented by  him ;  all  the  objects,  therefore,  which  corresponded  to 
divine  and  spiritual  things,  are  also  representatives  of  them,  and 
what  is  represented  is  likewise  signified. 

The  distinction  between  correspondences  and  representatives  is, 
that  correspondence  consists  in  the  mutual  relation,  which  prevails 
between  an  efficient  cause  and  its  orderly  effect.    Thus,  whatso- 


6  PREFACE. 

ever  exists  and  subsists  in  the  natural  world  from  the  spiritual,  is 
called  correspondence.  But  representatives  are  all  those  external 
things  which  exist  in  the  natural  mind,  and  which  are  the  suitable 
appearances  of  all  such  internal  subjects  as  are  presented  to  the 
spiritual  mind.  For  instance,  when  the  viscera  and  structure  of 
the  face  are  permitted  to  act  in  unity  with  the  affection  and  senti- 
ments which  exist  in  the  mind,  there  is  a  correspondence ;  but  the 
aspect  of  the  face,  under  such  circumstances,  is  the  representation. 
The  kings,  priests,  and  prophets,  are  said  to  represent  divine  and 
holy  things,  because,  in  their  governmental,  priestly,  and  prophetic 
characters,  they  were,  to  the  natural  minds  of  the  Israelites,  what 
they  conceived  of  such  things. 

Such  are  the  principles,  which  are  believed  to  have  presided 
over  the  construction  of  the  literal  sense  of  God's  most  holy 
Word,  and  of  which  illustrative  examples  are  presented  in  the 
following  work.  If  the  things  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  were 
not  representative,  and  thence,  significative,  of  holy  and  spiritual 
subjects,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  see  how  a  rational  idea  of  their 
divine  character  can  be  formed  ;  but  with  such  a  view  of  them, 
man  may  have  some  perception  of  their  great  sanctity  and  spirit- 
ual uses.  Indeed,  it  seems  difficult  to  see  how  divine  ideas  could 
have  been  enunciated  in  any  other  way  than  by  means  of  those 
human  ideas,  worldly  objects,  and  expressions,  which  are  in  cor- 
respondence with,  or  the  representatives  of,  spiritual  and  heavenly 
things. 

But,  while  this  is  regarded  "as  a  feature  peculiar  to  God's  Reve- 
lation, and,  in  our  opinion,  necessary  to  the  ideas  of  its  divine 
origin  and  inspiration,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  it  is  a  principle 
which  will  admit  of  a  diversity  of  literal  structure  ;  and  conse- 
quently, that  such  a  structure  has  always  been  employed  as  was 
in  agreement  with  the  characteristics  of  the  people,  to  whom  it 
was  originally  vouchsafed.  Hence  has  arisen  that  variety  of  style 
according  to  which  different  portions  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  are 
written.  This  circumstance  is  more  or  less  conspicuous,  in  all  the 
different  books  of  the  Word.  There  are,  however,  four  great  dis- 
tinctions of  style  by  which  the  Scriptures  now  in  our  possession 
are  distinguished.     These  are,  — 

First,  that  which  is  intended  to  express  spiritual  and  celestial 
things  only,  through  the  instrumentality  of  an  appropriate  selec- 
tion and  arrangement  of  terrestrial  and  worldly  objects.  This  we 
regard  as  the  orimitive  divine  style,  and  consider  it  to  have  taken 


PREFACE.  9 

its  rise  with  the  perceptions  of  the  ahori^nes  of  our  race,  during 
the  periods  of  their  religious  integrity.  To  them,  at  that  time,  it 
is  believed  that  the  objects  of  the  visible  world  were  as  an  open 
book,  in  which  they  could  perceive  divine  and  holy  things  repre- 
sented, and  who,  therefore,  when  treating  of  spiritual  things, 
would  arrange  their  thoughts  concerning  them  into  a  kind  of  his- 
torical series,  in  order  to  render  them  forcible  and  vivid.  This, 
doubtless,  is  the  style  of  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis,  or 
rather  up  to  the  fourteenth  verse  of  the  eleventh  chapter ;  and  it 
is  in  consequence  of  men,  in  later  ages,  not  having  attended  to 
this  most  remarkable  genius  of  the  most  ancient  people,  that  those 
early  portions  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  have  been  considered  so 
exceedingly  difficult  to  understand. 

The  second  style  is  historical,  and  treats,  in  the  letter,  of 
such  facts  and  occurrences,  as,  from  the  time  of  Abram,  are  re- 
corded in  those  books  commonly  called  historical.  Nevertheless, 
this  style,  like  the  former,  is  replete  with  an  internal  or  spiritual 
sense.  Historical  circumstances  began  to  be  employed  for  the 
purpose  of  representing  spiritual  things,  when  mankind,  and  es- 
pecially the  descendants  of  Abram,  to  whom  those  documents, 
with  the  exception  of  the  book  of  Job,  were  originally  voucli- 
safed,  had  sunk  into  a  merely  sensual  and  selfish  state.  Job  is 
evidently  a  more  ancient  book,  produced,  in  all  probability,  upon 
the  plan  of  the  factitious  history  of  the  first  style  of  revelation, 
though  it  does  not  appear  to  be  so  complete  and  regular  in  its 
structure. 

The  third  style  is  the  prophetical.  This,  also,  appears  to 
have  derived  its  condition  from  the  factitious  histories  of  the  prim- 
itive people  :  not  that  it  puts  on  a  historical  aspect,  or  that  it  is, 
like  them,  connected  in  a  historical  series ;  for  it  is  well  known 
to  be  much  broken  and  interrupted,  and  likewise  to  contain  many 
statements  in  the  literal  sense  which  are  scarcely  intelligible ; 
still,  in  their  internal  sense  throughout,  there  are  expressed,  in  an 
orderly  series,  sentiments  of  eC  purely  spiritual  character. 

The  fourth  style  is  the  Psalms.  These,  as  may  be  easily 
seen,  partake  of  an  intermediate  form  between  the  prophetical 
and  that  of  ordinary  speech,  and  they  treat  of  the  internal  states 
and  religious  experience  of  all  those  who  are  within  the  pale  of 
the  Lord's  church. 

That  these  are  just  views  of  the  style  of  the  Psalms,  with  the 
prophetic  and  historical  portions  of  the  Holy  Word,  we  think  can 


10  PREFACE. 

hardly  be  disputed ;  and  although  what  is  stated  to  be  the  style 
of  those  parts  of  it  which  precede  the  time  of  Abram  is  equally 
true,  yet,  because  that  may  not  be  so  readily  perceived,  it  was 
deemed  requisite  to  dwell  a  little  on  that  point,  in  the  introductory 
chapter  of  the  following  work.  To  what  is  there  stated,  we  are 
desirous  to  add  one  or  two  other  considerations. 

It  seems  evident  that  the  Lord,  in  causing  a  revelation  to  be 
made  to  man,  of  spiritual  and  heavenly  wisdom,  has  had  respect  to 
the  genius  and  disposition  of  the  people,  to  whom  it  was  vouch- 
safed. We  gather  this  view  from  the  facts  which  are  apparent  in 
what  are  emphatically  called  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  From  them 
it  is  plain  that  the  letter  of  the  revelation  relating  to  that  people, 
and  of  which  they  were  made  the  depositories,  was  constructed, 
as  we  find  it  to  be,  in  consequence  of  their  remarkable  condition. 
They  were  a  most  external  and  sensual  people ;  and  therefore, 
the  revelation,  which,  in  its  external  form,  is  peculiarly  theirs, 
partook  of  that  historical  and  worldly  character  by  which  we  see 
it  is  distinguished.  This  was  all  that  they  appreciated.  Of 
spiritual  things  they  had  but  little  conception,  and  scarcely  any 
care. 

Now,  if  it  be  true  that  the  literal  structure  of  revelation  has 
always  been  in  conformity  with  the  genius  of  the  people,  to  whom 
it  has  been  made,  —  if  it  be  true  that  the  most  external  style  of 
revelation  to  be  found  in  the  Bible  was  adopted  in  consequence 
of  the  sensual  condition  of  the  Jewish  people,  to  whom  it  was 
first  committed,  then  it  will  follow  that  the  revelation  granted  to  a 
superior  people  could  not  have  been  of  so  external  a  character. 
If  the  genius  of  the  people,  among  whom  the  early  portions  of  the 
book  of  Genesis  were  produced  was  eminently  spiritual,  and  if 
the  narratives  are  constructed  in  conformity  with  such  character, 
then  it  is  plain  that  the  literal  sense  of  that  revelation  ought  to  be 
differently  understood  from  that  which  has  been  vouchsafed  to  the 
descendants  of  Abram.  It  seems  contrary  to  all  just  criticism,  to 
suppose  that  the  literal  form  of  the  revelation  which  was  granted 
to  a  people  who  were  acquainted  with  spiritual  things,  is  the  same 
as  that  which  was  given  to  a  community  who  were  utterly  ignorant 
of  them.  We  therefore  hold,  that  their  external  structure  must 
be  differently  understood,  nor  can  we  perceivd  the  reasonableness 
of  any  contrary  conclusion. 

It  is  admitted,  that  the  first  eleven  chapters  were  produced  among 
a  people,  who  flourished  lonp^  anterior  to  the  time  of  Abram ;  and 


PREFACE.  11 

thei-e  is  much  reason  to  believe,  that  they  originated  in  those  pe- 
riods, which  poets  and  philosophers  liavc  spoken  of  as  the  silver 
age,  —  an  age  in  which  an  Asiatic  people  were  spiritually  intelli- 
gent, because  they  studied  interior  truths,  and  were  acquainted 
with  those  outer  things  in  nature,  Avhich  were  the  symbols  of  them ; 
—  an  age,  therefore,  in  Avhich  mankind  would  speak  of  spiritual 
subjects,  by  means  of  those  things  which  they  knew  to  be  their 
representatives  in  the  world. 

Without  extending  these  remarks,  it  is  evident,  that  the  earliest 
narratives  of  antiquity  were  written  in  a  style  that  was  highly 
figurative  ;  and  this  was  a  peculiarity  belonging,  not  to  the  history 
of  one  nation  merely,  but  to  all  which  have  any  pretensions  to  a 
record  of  their  origin.  Upon  what  principle,  then,  can  this  char- 
acter be  denied  to  that  early  history  in  the  Bible,  which  precedes 
the  time  of  Abram  ?  It  cannot  be  because  the  literal  sense  of 
those  documents  is  plain  and  easily  to  be  comprehended :  for 
when  viewed  as  actual  history,  they  are  full  of  great  and  astound- 
ing difficulties,  which  no  learning  that  has  hitherto  been  exercised 
upon  them,  has  been  capable  of  satisfactorily  explaining.  If  the 
genius  of  the  people  who  lived  in  remote  antiquity,  was  such  as 
we  have  indicated,  and  if  those  narratives  were  produced  among 
them,  then  they  must  have  partaken  of  that  genius ;  if  they  did 
not,  they  could  not  have  been  serviceable  to  them,  nor  instrumental 
in  transmitting  to  posterity  any  just  notions  of  that  disposition  and 
general  turn  of  mind,  by  which  they  were  distinguished. 

Every  one  admits,  that  the  minds  of  mankind  during  the  purity 
of  the  Adamic  periods,  were  influenced  by  very  interior  and  ele- 
vated sentiments :  the  affections  of  their  wills  were,  doubtless, 
directed  towards  the  Lord,  and  their  understandings  were  enlight- 
ened by  thoughts  concerning  Him.  In  such  an  intellectual  condi- 
tion, nature  must  have  been  a  sort  of  mirror,  reflectmg  internal 
and  spiritual  ideas.  It  is  easy  to  conceive,  that  such  minds  would 
regard  the  worldly  things  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  as  the 
symbol  of  some  internal  state,  spiritual  experience,  or  heavenly 
ideas,  belonging  to  the  Lord  and  his  kingdom.  This,  indeed, 
would  enable  them 

'*  To  look  through  Nature  up  to  Nature's  God ;  " 

and  behold,  in  all  its  objects,  the  expressive  types  of  spiritual 
realities.  To  such  minds,  creation  must  have  been  a  rich  display 
of  objects,  representing  interior  things  pertaining  to  the  Creator. 


12  PREFACE. 

When  the  people,  distinguished  by  such  a  state,  spoke  of  natural 
things,  their  ideas  concerning  them  would,  as  it  were,  recede,  and 
give  place  to  spiritual  conceptions.  When  they  undertook  to 
describe  spiritual  and  holy  subjects,  they  would  select  and  arrange, 
for  that  purpose,  such  temporal  and  natural  objects,  as  they  knew 
would  accurately  represent  them.  If  these  views  are  correct,  and 
we  think  they  are  admissive  of  satisfactory  proof,  then,  it  is  evi- 
dent, that  the  literal  sense  of  documents,  constructed  on  this  prin- 
ciple, was  only  a  kind  of  vehicle  for  the  signification  of  something- 
else,  and  that  their  genuine  meaning  must  have  laid  within  it,  as  a 
jewel  within  its  casket. 

If  such  a  people  undertook  to  record  the  moral  and  spiritual 
things  which  they  experienced,  according  to  the  successive  series 
in  which  they  had  transpired,  it  seems  plain,  that  they  would  do  it 
by  the  arrangement  of  representative  objects  into  a  historical  form. 
Such,  we  conceive,  to  have  been  the  genius  of  the  people,  among 
whom  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis  were  produced,  and 
such  the  circumstances  which  influenced  their  construction ;  those 
documents,  therefore,  are  not  to  be  understood  according  to  their 
literal  sense,  they  being  factitious  history,  intending  to  express, 
by  correspondence  and  representation,  only  internal  and  spiritual 
things. 

Distinguished  authority  for  these  views  could  be  cited,  and  much 
corroborative  evidence  and  reasonings  proceeded  with ;  but  it  is 
not  convenient  to  lengthen  these  remarks.  Enough  may  have 
been  said,  to  commend  the  subject  to  the  careful  consideration  of 
those  who  may  be  interested  in  such  an  inquiry.  It  shows  the 
principles  on  which  the  following  work  has  been  written,  and  to 
that  the  reader  is  respectfully  referred  for  additional  testunony 
and  illustration.  The  religious  connections  of  the  writer,  will 
know  the  source  whence  these  opinions  have  been  suggested ;  to 
them,  therefore,  no  explanation  on  this  head  is  necessary  ;  and,  it 
is  presumed,  that  those  who  may  be  favorably  impressed  with 
them,  after  the  perusal  of  the  work,  will  find  no  difliculty  in  going 
directly  to  the  same  spring. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  necessary  to  oflEer  some  explanation  of  the 
circumstances  which  have  led  to  this  publication ;  and,  also,  to 
apologize  for  defects,  which  might  not  have  occurred,  if  it  had 
been  produced  independently  of  them. 

The  materials  for  this  work  were,  for  the  most  part,  originally 
collected  and  arranged  in  the  form  of  eight  lectures,  which  were 


PREFACE.  }3i 

delivered  in  Preston,  to  crowded  audiences,  with  some  advantages 
to  the  church  of  which  the  writer  is  a  member.  These  circum- 
stances led  to  a  request  for  redelivering  them  in  an  adjoining 
town,  which,  on  being  done,  excited  there  also,  favorable  atten- 
tion. Parts  of  them  were  afterwards  delivered  in  the  metropolis, 
and  in  two  of  the  largest  provincial  towns  in  the  kingdom.  In  all 
these  cases,  intimations  of  approbation  were  conveyed  to  him,  and 
a  desire  expressed  for  their  publication.  But  as  they  were  written 
only  for  the  purpose  of  oral  publicity,  and  doubtless  owed  much 
of  the  indulgent  reception  with  which  they  met,  to  the  "  living 
voice,"  he  did  not  think  them  adapted  for  the  press,  and,  on  that 
account,  waived  the  suggestion  for  printing  them.  But  the  request 
having  been  renewed  on  two  or  three  occasions,  and  urged  upon 
him  by  several  judicious  friends,  he  was  induced  to  entertain  the 
subject;  he  was,  likewise,  encouraged  to  yield  to  those  solicita- 
tions from  other  causes.  He  knew  that  they  had  been  instru- 
mental in  rescuing  from  disbelief,  some  who  had  long  been  doubt- 
ing the  truth  of  revelation ;  also,  that  they  had  afforded  others 
more  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  and  character  of 
the  early  chapters  of  Genesis,  than  they  had  previously  possessed  ; 
and  also,  that  they  had  assisted  many,  in  consolidating  their  faith 
in  the  holiness  and  sanctity  of  God's  Holy  Word.  As  these  ad- 
vantages, under  the  Divine  Providence,  had  arisen  from  their  oral 
delivery,  he  was  induced  to  hope,  that  their  publication  might  be 
followed  by  some  further  usefulness,  and  therefore,  consented  to 
the  suggestion  of  his  friends.  He  is  not  aware  that  there  is  any 
similar  publication  extant ;  and  this  led  him  to  think  that  such  a 
work  might  be  generally  acceptable  to  his  own  religious  connec- 
tions, as  well  as  being,  in  some  measure,  serviceable  to  the  public 
at  large.  Such  are  the  circumstances  which  have  led  to  the  pres- 
ent publication,  and  it  is  hoped,  that  it  may  supply,  however  feebly, 
something  for  an  unoccupied  niche  in  the  edifice  of  true  religious' 
literature. 

But  as  to  the  execution.  It  was  felt  that  their  character,  as 
lectures,  and  in  some  cases,  their  sermon-like  structure,  would  not 
be  so  attractive,  or  so  generally  acceptable,  as  some  other  form 
that  might  be  adopted.  Hence  it  was  determined  to  avoid,  as  far 
as  convenient,  the  preaching  portions  of  the  discourses,  and  re- 
arrange the  matter  into  the  shape  in  which  it  now  appears.  But 
to  do  this  was  not  unattended  with  difficulties.  For  the  sake  of 
the  judgments  of  those,  at  whose  suggestions  the  publication  was 
3' 


14  PREFACE. 

undertaken,  the  original  features  of  the  work  could  not  be  entirely 
sacrificed,  and  yet,  with  the  view  of  providing  something  that 
might  survive  a  mere  temporary  interest,  some  change  was  neces- 
sary. To  accomplish  both  these  objects,  he  has  been  compelled 
to  admit  some  blemishes  in  arrangement,  some  peculiarities  of 
treatment,  and  a  few  repetitions  :  for  these,  the  indulgence  of  the 
reader  is  requested.  The  notes  are  fresh  matter,  which  it  is  hoped 
will  add  to  the  usefulness  of  the  work. 

For  the  general  scope  and  design  of  this  publication,  he  has  no 
apology  to  offer,  no  indulgence  to  ask,  no  solicitude  to  express : 
feeling  assured,  that  a  plain  enunciation  of  spiritual  truth  has  been 
aimed  at,  and  sincerely  believing  in  the  religious  soundness  of  the 
grounds  which  have  been  taken  for  it,  he  is  content  to  leave  the 
result  in  the  hands  of  that  wise  Providence,  which,  in  superintend- 
ing the  greatest  things  of  the  universe,  does  not  overlook  the 
minutest  efforts  of  men. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  observed,  that  if  this  work  had  been 
written  for  his  own  religious  connections  merely,  the  author  would, 
in  many  instances,  have  adopted  another  mode  of  treatment  and 
expression ;  but  as  it  wSis  designed  for  more  general  use,  he  has 
considered  it  proper  to  avoid,  so  far  as  convenient,  all  the  appear- 
ances of  technicality,  and  to  present  the  subjects  in  as  popular  a 
form,  as  he  thought  their  recondite  character  would  permit. 

The  Postdiluvian  History  to  the  call  of  Abram,  is  eminently 
interesting,  and  should  this  work  prove  acceptable,  the  author 
will  feel  encouraged  to  undertake  its  elucidation  in  a  similar 
volume. 

Preston,  November  25,  1850. 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION.  —  GENERAL  STRUCTURE   OF   THE  NARRATIVE. 

"As  to  the  particular  form  in  which  the  descriptive  narrative  (of  crea- 
tion) is  conveyed,  we  merely  affirm  that  it  cantiot  be  History  —  it  may 
be  Poetry."  —  Rev.  Baden  Powell,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S., 
Savilian  Professor  of  Geometry  in  the  University  of  Oxford.  Art. 
"  Creation"  in  Kitto's  Biblical  Cyclopaedia. 

In  order  correctly  to  understand  the  written  documents  of  an- 
tiquity, it  is  necessary  to  know  something  of  the  genius  of  the 
people,  among  whom  they  were  produced.  Without  this  informa- 
tion, we  are  liable  to  great  mistakes.  Very  different  styles  of 
writing  have  prevailed  among  the  same  nations,  at  different  pe- 
riods of  their  existence ;  and  the  deeper  we  penetrate  into  their 
mental  history,  the  less  literal  and  more-poetic  shall  we  find  their 
methods  of  expression  to  have  been.  This  fact  is  not  to  be  disre- 
garded, in  prosecuting  the  inquiry  we  have  now  before  us.  It 
bears  forcibly  upon  the  point.  And  this  leads  us  to  ask,  Whether 
Antediluvian  History,  as  contained  in  the  Bible,  was  written  in 
accordance  with  that  historical  and  grammatical  criticism,  with 
which  it  has  been  common,  in  modern  times,  to  interpret  it  ?  We 
think  not.  The  record  of  creation  has  been  found  to  give  way 
before  the  discoveries  and  demands  of  science.  The  genius  of  a 
matter-of-fact  people,  is  not  the  precise  thing,  by  which  to  judge 
of  the  literary  productions  of  a  period  essentially  interior  and 
poetic.  '  And  therefore,  we  may  again  ask.  Whether  this  peculiar 
condition  of  mind,  whicH  prevailed  during  the  early  periods  of  our 
race,  when  these  remarkable  documents  were  originally  produced, 
may  not  have  induced  them  to  describe  mental  existences  and 
moral  processes,  in  a  historical  form  ?  May  not  the  rise  of  the 
human  mind,  out  of  inactivity  and  darkness,  and  its  successive 
advancement  into  a  state  prolific  with  intelligence  and  virtue,  have 
been  described  by  such  a  people  as  the  creation  of  a  world  ?  May 
not  the  intellectual  sentiment  and  living  affection,  which  are  suc- 
cessively developed  during  such  a  process,  have  been  considernd 
by  them,  as  so  many  days  of  the  Divine  Work  ?    We  think  it  higl  J / 


16  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

probable :  we  can  evea  now  perceive  a  certain  general  resem- 
blance between  the  description,  and  the  process  we  have  indicated 
and  every  one  is  aware  that  it  was  usual,  in  after-times,  to  speak 
of  the  mind  of  man  as  a  microcosm  —  a  little  world,  while  the 
Greek  fabulists  commonly  represented  his  various  sentiments,  by 
numerous  objects  selected  from  animated  nature. 

This  style  did  not  originate  with  the  Greeks,  it  prevailed  long 
before  they  existed  as  a  nation,  and  it  can  be  historically  traced 
among  people  of  much  higher  antiquity ;  —  the  Egyptians,  for 
instance. 

If  then,  the  early  portions  of  Genesis  should  prove,  as  we  be- 
lieve they  will  do,  not  to  be  a  history  of  physical  things,  but  the 
history  of  mental  processes  and  phenomena,  expressed  in  a  pe- 
culiar way,  it  will  follow,  that  long  and  large  mistakes  have  been 
made  concerning  them,  and  that  most  of  the  valuable  information, 
they  were  written  to  convey  to  posterity,  has  been  entirely  over- 
looked by  them. 

We  are  aware  that  there  are  those,  who  have  great  hesitation  in 
attaching  any  other  meaning  to  the  words  of  the  Bible,  than  that 
which  they  ordinarily  bear.  They  seem  to  think,  that  in  giving 
up  their  physical  sense,  or  natural  application,  they  must  relin- 
quish their  real  and  solid  signification.  But,  as  it  is  evident,  that 
there  are  multitudes  of  instances  in  the  Bible,  in  which  words  are 
employed  in  a  sense  widely  different  from  that,  in  which  they  are 
commonly  used,  that  hesitation  cannot  be  well  founded.  The  fact 
which  it  supposes,  cannot  be  maintained.  Moreover,  those  who 
consider  the  words  to  be  significant  of  spiritual  things,  regard 
such  things  to  be  much  more  real,  solid,  and  enduring,  than  any 
thing  which  the  physical  sense  attached  to  them  can  express  ; 
and  therefore,  the  setting  aside  their  ordinary  signification,  does 
not  deprive  them  of  a  meaning,  having  relation  to  reality. 

The  "  bending "  of  the  language  of  God's  Book  to  any  other 
than  its  obvious  meaning,  is  said  to  be  an  "  impiety."  *  But  is  it 
not  the  circumstance  of  the  meaning  not  being  always  obvious, 
which  necessitates  the  commentary  ?  That  which  is  plain  needs 
no  interpretation :  the  clear  signification  is  brought  out  by  the 
"bending,"  {.  e.  the  interpretation,  since,  without  it,  there  are 
numerous  instances,  in  which  there  would  be  either  no  sense,  or 
something  exceedingly  ambiguous.     There  cannot  be  any  impiety 

*  E.  B.  Pusey,  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew  in  Oxford.  Letter  to  Dr, 
Buckland,  in  his  Bridgewater  Treatise,  Geology  and  Mineralogy,  p.  25. 


INTERPRETATION    NECESSARY.  17 

in  the  honest  endeavor,  to  render  God's  Book  intelligible  and  in- 
structive to  its  thinking  readers.  Impiety  lies  upon  the  other  side, 
—  in  permitting  ideas  to  be  cherished,  under  the  supposition  that 
they  are  contained  in  God's  Book,  when  in  reality,  they  are  not  to 
be  found  therein,  but  are  crude  inductions,  arising  from  erroneous 
meanings  being  attached  to  its  language.  The  very  fact,  that  it 
is  God's  Book,  implies  that  it  contains  more  than  what  immediately 
appears  upon  the  surface,  and  thus,  that  the  words  are  but  the 
outer  vehicle  of  some  more  interior  thought,  which  interpretation 
is  required  to  eliminate. 

The  narratives  before  us  are  conceded  to  be  a  Divine  produc- 
tion ;  we  believe  that  they,  together  with  the  whole  Scriptures, 
contain  within  themselves  much  fuller  evidence  of  this  fact,  than 
any  which  merely  verbal  or  historical  criticism  can  ever  reach.  Our 
inquiries  then,  do  not  involve  any  thing  touching  their  authenticity 
and  genuineness  as  a  revelation  from  God :  that  to  which  our  in- 
vestigation relates,  is  the  sense  in  li^hich  the  Church  should  under- 
stand them.  That  they  do  require  interpretation  seems  evident 
from  the  extensive  commentaries,  which,  from  time  to  time,  have 
been  written  for  their  elucidation.  The  design  of  those  produc- 
tions has  been,  for  the  most  part,  to  uphold  the  literal  sense  of 
these  documents :  and  yet  how  very  unsatisfactory  is  much  that 
has  been  written  on  this  side  of  the  subject,  when  compared  with 
wliat  a  free  and  philosophical  inquiry  will  demand.  When  such 
writers  have  reached  points,  which  have  come  into  collision  with 
the  suggestions  of  reason,  they  have  insisted  on  the  necessity  of 
faith,  and  pleaded  the  inexplicability  of  omnipotence.  A  becom 
ing  piety  is  always  proper  in  such  investigations,  but  it  was  never 
intended  to  direct  us  from  the  path  of  enlightened  investigation. 
We  freely  admit  the  value  of  faith,  and  at  once  concede  the  in- 
comprehensibility of  the  Divine  Power.  This  admission  and 
concession  ought  to  induce  us  to  approach  Scripture  investigation, 
with  humility  and  caution,  but  surely,  they  do  not  require  us  to 
relinquish  the  endeavor  to  rightly  understand  any  thing,  that  has 
been  delivered  to  us  as  a  Revelation  from  God.  Reason,  consid 
ered  as  a  faculty  of  our  nature,  is  as  much  the  production  of  God, 
as  is  the  revelation  of  the  Scriptures.  They  are  designed  mutu- 
ally to  assist  and  illustrate  each  other :  and  whensoever  they  are 
brought  into  collision,  it  is  the  result  of  some  perversity  on  the 
part  of  man.  When  he  is  in  order,  the  Scriptures  will  harmonize 
Avith  his  highest  wants  and  perceptions. 
2* 


18  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTOHY. 

Most  persons  are  aware,  that  there  are  many  serious  difficulties, 
in  the  literal  sense  of  the  early  portion  of  the  Word,  which  remain 
unsolved,  and  that  bright  minds  and  deep  learning  have  been  em- 
ployed upon  the  inquiry,  without  a  successful  issue.  There  are 
large  numbers  in  the  Professing  Christian  world,  who  are  not  yet 
convinced,  that  a  right  path  has  been  chosen  for  this  pursuit,  and 
many  will  be  glad  and  free  to  have  the  opportunity  of  considering 
some  new  views  on  the  whole  subject.  These,  in  the  course  of 
this  work,  it  will  be  our  endeavor  to  provide  ;  offering,  as  we  pro- 
ceed, such  confirmation  from  revelation,  evidence  from  history,  and 
responses  from  the  living  sentiments  of  humanity,  as  our  acquaint- 
ance with  them  will  enable  us  to  supply. 

To  doubt  the  truth  of  certain  human  interpretations  of  tlie 
Scripture,  is  one  of  the  immunities  of  Protestant  Christianity; 
and,  notwithstanding  religious  differences  have  sprung  out  of  this 
freedom,  more  generous  and  enlightened  views  have  been  pro- 
moted by  its  exercise.  We  are  about  to  employ  this  privilege  in 
another  department  of  biblical  inquiry  ;  but  for  no  other  purpose, 
so  far  as  we  know  our  own  hearts,  than  to  advance  the  interest  of 
what  we  believe  to  be  the  general  scope,  rational  meaning,  and 
religious  design  of  the  early  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Genesis. 
We  believe  those  documents  to  be  descriptions  of  spiritual  phe- 
nomena only,  and  think  that  men  did  not  begin  to  attach  a  natural 
meaning  to  them,  until  they  had  descended  from  an  ancient  state 
of  intellectual  eminence,  a;id  suffered  their  faith  to  pass  into  the 
obscurities  of  sensual  apprehension.  We  hold,  that  it  could  not 
have  been  the  intention  of  the  Sacred  Writings,  to  communicate 
to  man  instruction  concerning  physical  truths.  These  were  open 
to  the  Scientific  investigation  and  common  understandings  of  nat- 
ural men :  and  the  progress  of  science,  in  disclosing  the  monu- 
ments of  the  past  ages  of  terrestrial  existence,  has  established 
facts,  which  are  utterly  repugnant  to  the  popular  interpretation  of 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  The  evidences,  which 
geology  has  brought  to  light,  carries  us  back  into  an  unutterable 
period  of  time.  They  prove  a  duration  to  the  earth  ;  demonstrate 
the  existence  of  living  structures,  of  great  diversity  and  interest, 
belonging  to  both  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms  ;  they  pro- 
claim the  operation  of  phenomena,  and  certify  to  innumerable 
events,  all  of  which  are  plainly  inconsistent  with  the  notion,  which 
regards  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  to  be  a  circumstantial  narration 
of  the  primordial  creation. 


THE   DEMANDS    OF   GEOLOGY.  19 

These  facts  are  now  very  generally  acknowledged  by  learned 
men  of  all  parties  ;  not  that  they  have  abandoned  the  idea  of  ihe 
Mosaic  history  giving  an  account  of  the  creation,  but  that  they 
have  relinquished  those  long-standing  opinions,  which  it  was  sup- 
posed circumstantially  to  indicate. 

The  lapse  of  immense  periods  of  time,  which  geology  proves 
to  have  taken  place  before  the  creation  of  man,  also,  those  evi- 
dences which  show,  that  before  that  event,  there  had  come  into 
being  successive  orders  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  differing 
from  existing  species,  and  all  of  which  had  as  gradually  become 
extinct,  are  discoveries  which  affect,  in  their  consequences,  the 
-entire  view  to  be  taken  of  the  whole  subject.  These  facts,  being 
inconsistent  with  what,  for  centuries,  had  been  considered  as  the 
obvious  meaning  of  the  Mosaic  cosmogony,  demand,  either  that 
the  narrative  should  no  longer  be  considered  as  a  description  of 
physical  creation,  or,  that  it  should  be  so  interpreted,  as  to  harmon- 
ize with  the  unquestionable  discoveries  of  science.  The  former 
course  was  too  serious  a  matter  to  be  attempted.  The  notion  of 
this  record  being  a  description  of  creation,  in  some  sense,  had 
become  too  venerable  a  prejudice  to  be  suddenly  put  aside  ;  the 
latter,  therefore,  has  been  undertaken  by  learned  men. 

But  after  the  display  of  much  effort  in  that  direction  it  has  been 
said,  that  the  object  of  Genesis  "  was  not  to  state  in  what  manner y 
but  by  ichom  the  world  was  made."  *  This  is  cutting  the  difficulty 
shorter,  but  it  does  not  explain  it.  A  summary  statement  of  this 
nature  could  not  have  been  satisfactory  to  the  authors  of  it :  the 
details  of  the  narration  are  too  many  to  have  permitted  such  a 
result.  It  certainly  does  state  by  whom  the  world  was  made  ;  but 
is  there  not  also  a  precise  description  of  the  order  of  the  process, 
and  are  there  not  some  indications  of  the  manner  ?  Every  one 
knows,  that  all  things  are  distinctly  said  to  have  been  spoken  into 
existence :  and  there  are  few,  who  have  not  noticed  the  manner 
in  which  the  making  of  woman  was  begun.  Into  what  palpable 
dilemmas  will  the  adoption  of  erroneous  premises  conduct  us  !  If 
it  is  once  clearly  perceived,  that  an  explanation  of  physical  crea- 

*  Dr.  Buckland's  Bridgewater  Treatise,  p.  33.  Art,  Creation,  Kitto's 
Cyclopaedia  of  Biblicul  Literature.  Eusebius  also  says,  "  It  was  not  the 
intention  of  Moses  to  detail  a  philosophical  account  of  the  formation  of 
the  world,  but  to  signify  only  that  it  did  not  exist  of  itself  or  by  chance, 
but  was  the  production  of  an  all-wise  and  all-powerful  creator."  Oracles 
of  Reason^  1.  4,  p.  186.    Etiseb.  Pnep.  Ev.  2,  7. 


20  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTOKIT. 

tion  does  not  properly  belong  to  a  system  of  theology,  then  it  will 
soon  be  acknowledged,  that  the  Mosaic  description,  considered  as 
a  revelation  from  God,  must  refer  to  other  phenomena. 

The  natural  explanations  which  have  been  offered,  are  too  vague 
and  general  to  be  received  as  the  true  meaning  of  those  ancient 
writings,  neither  have  those  views  taken  any  hold  upon  the  public 
mind.  These  expositors  have  not  been  agreed  on  any  precise 
theory  of  the  earth's  existence  and  phenomena ;  and  therefore, 
they  have  not  succeeded  in  squaring  up  the  narrative  for  popular 
acceptance.  Hence,  while  the  old  ideas,  which  used  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  obvious  sense  of  the  history,  are  thoroughly  exploded 
by  scientific  discovery,  the  new  interpretations  which  have  been 
attempted,  are  received  with  distrust,  so  that  popular  Christianity 
is  left  in  complete  uncertainty,  as  to  the  real  meaning  of  the  nar- 
rative. 

It  may  not  be  unacceptable,  to  notice  what  have  been  the  prin- 
cipal views  of  the  Mosaic  record,  Avhich  those  scientific  discoveries 
have  led  biblical  students  to  adopt.  At  the  very  outset,  it  is  de- 
manded, that  the  literal  interpreter  of  the  Scriptures  should  make 
concessions  —  that  he  should  give  up  much  of  the  usual  and  ordi- 
nary signification  attached  to  the  language.  The  precise  amount 
of  yielding  is  not  defined,  but  it  is  evident  that  a  considerable 
quantity  is  required. 

It  was  long  a  customary  thing,  to  look  upon  the  stratified  con- 
dition of  the  earth,  as  the  result  of  the  Noetic  deluge.  But  it  is 
now  admitted  upon  all  hands,  that  this  could  not  have  been  the 
cause.  The  vestiges  of  animals,  belonging  to  extinct  genera  and 
distinct  periods,  with  which  the  strata  abound,  prove  that  they  had 
lived  at  incalculable  distances  of  time  ;  and  also,  that  the  strata, 
in  which  they  are  found,  had  been  very  gradually  deposited. 
This,  therefore,  sufficiently  proves,  that  the  few  months'  continu- 
ance of  the  Deluge,  could  not  have  been  the  cause,  by  which  those 
wrecks  were  produced. 

Another  hypothesis  was,  that  the  earth's  strata  were  formed  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  during  the  time  which  intervened  between 
primordial  creation  and  the  flood  ;  at  which  period,  it  is  supposed, 
that  the  antediluvian  continents  were  submerged,  and  the  bottom 
of  the  sea  raised  to  supply  their  place.  This,  however,  is  a  mere 
conjecture,  at  which  there  is  not  the  slightest  hint  in  all  the  narra- 
tive, and  against  which  thsre  is  this  scientific  fact,  —  namely,  the 
roinains  of  land  anhnals  of  distinct  geological  periods. 


HYPOTHESES    WHICH    HAVE   BEEN    HELD,  Sl 

These  two  views,  in  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  maintain 
the  literal  sense  of  the  Mosaic  cosmogony,  by  referring  geological 
phenomena  to  the  catastrophe  of  the  deluge,  have  now  no  weight 
with  scientific  men. 

The  next  opinion  which  has  been  offered  to  the  acceptance  of 
the  world  is,  that  the  "  days,"  in  which  Moses  describes  the  crea- 
tion to  have  been  accomplished,  are  to  be  understood  as  great 
intervals  of  time ;  and  this  interpretation,  it  is  asserted,  will  render 
his  account  consistent  with  the  long  successive  periods  which  sci- 
ence demands.  It  is  true,  that  the  terra  "  day  "  is  frequently  men- 
tioned in  the  Scriptures  to  denote,  not  twenty-four  hours  merely, 
but  an  undefined  period  ;  still,  this  fact  does  not  meet  all  the  con- 
ditions which  the  problem  before  us  demands.  Moses  describes 
the  vegetable  kingdom  to  have  been  produced  before  the  animal, 
whereas,  geology  shows  them  to  have  been  contemporaneous. 
This  however,  cannot  well  be  urged  against  the  view  under  con- 
sideration, because  the  mineral  substances,  which  enter  into  the 
composition  of  the  osseous  structure  of  the  animal]  is  less  destruc- 
tible than  vegetable  fibre.  The  points  fatal  to  this  view  of  the 
case  are,  that  those  periods  of  time  are  not  only  spoken  of  as 
days,  but  also  as  the  alternation  of  evening  and  morning,  to  which 
the  speculation  attaches  no  significancy.  Moreover,  those  who 
take  this  view  of  the  subject,  when  they  come  to  the  seventh  day, 
abandon  their  own  interpretation  of  that  term,  and  insist  upon  the 
ordinary  sense  of  it,  on  the  ground  of  a  statement  made  in  the 
fourth  commandment  relating  to  the  sabbath.  It  is  a  view,  there- 
fore, which  is  not  consistent  with  itself :  neither  does  it  reconcile 
the  facts  of  animal  deaths  and  vegetable  ruin,  which  preceded  the 
existence  of  man,  with  the  scope  of  the  narrative,  which  is,  plainly, 
a  description  of  the  successive  bringing  into  existence,  and  the 
merciful  preservation  of,  various  orders  of  life ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  wisely  keeping  out  of  sight  every  thing  of  a  contrary  nature. 
Surely,  that  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  a  circumstantial  account  of 
the  natural  creation,  during  some  periods  of  which,  and  long  before 
the  completion  of  the  whole,  extensive  destructions  were  effected, 
and  concerning  which,  not  the  least  intimation  has  been  given  in 
the  record,  but  all  of  it  carefully  concealed. 

The  force  of  such,  and  kindred  objections  has  been  felt,  and 
another  conjecture  has  been  ventured. 

It  has  been  argued,  that  the  first  verse  of  Genesis,  or  the  first 
and  second,  should  be  considered  distinctly  from  what  follows,  and 


22  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

that  all  the  physical  phenomena  of  geology  should  be  refened  ta 
the  period  indicated  by  the  "  heginning ; "  since  it  was  in  the 
beginning  that  God  made  the  earth ;  that  not  being  included  in 
the  work  of  the  first  day.  *  It  is  said  that  the  Divine  operations 
in  the  oeginning,  not  being  in  any  way  connected  with  the  history 
of  our  race,  are  passed  over  in  silence,  because  the  purpose  of 
Moses  is  only  to  inform  us  of  the  progress  of  creation  at  the  last 
great  change  which  affected  the  surface  of  the  earth,  together 
with  the  production  of  its  present  races  of  animal  and  vegetable 
inhabitants. 

Under  this  view  of  the  case,  the  narrative  of  Moses  is  not  con- 
sidered to  be  the  history  of  the  actual  beginning  of  the  universe 
at  all ;  but  only  as  a  statement  of  the  origination  of  a  certain 
epoch ;  it  having  been  preceded  by  many  others,  each  of  immense 
duration,  and  all  distinguished  by  a  great  abundance  of  organic 
life.  This,  certainly,  is  a  very  forced  exposition  of  the  subject ; 
but  if  it  be  admitted  to  settle  swne  of  the  difficulties  which  geol- 
ogy proposes  to  the  more  common  view  of  the  narration,  it  leaves 
others  untouched  which  are  equally  formidable.  Some  of  these  it 
undertakes  to  deal  with  in  general  terms,  and  others  more  circum- 
stantially, by  supposing  the  existence  of  phenomena  which  maif 
come  within  the  meaning  of  the  Mosaic  history.  For  instance,  it 
is'  there  asserted  that  light  prevailed  tliree  days  before  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  stars,  f     When,  then,  it  is  asked,  if  those  lumina- 

*  See  Dr.  Buckland's  Inaugural  Lecture  :  Oxford  edition,  pp.  31,  32, 
and  I>r.  Chalmers'  Evidences  of  the  Christian  Rerelation,  chap.  vri. 

t  This  objectian  has  been  freqiiently  urged :  the  following  is  among 
the  most  accredited  replies  of  theologians.  "  A  difficulty  has  arisen  in 
the  minds  of  some  critics  and  commentators,  to  account  for  the  produc- 
tion of  light,  before  the  creation  of  the  sun,  which  has  been  considered 
as  its  source  ;  and  they  have  indulged  in  vai'ious  conjectures  on  the  sub- 
ject. Some  have  supposed,  that  it  was  caused  by  an  imperfect  sun,  in 
which  the  elements  of  light  and  fire  were  not  yet  collected  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  illuminate  the  earth.  Others  have  imagined,  that  though 
the  sun  existed,  his  rays  could  not  penetrate  through  the  dense  atmos- 
phere, ^  as  to  render  the  surface  of  the  terraqueous  globe  visible.  A 
third  conjecture  is,  that  this  first-created  light  was  only  a  lucid  cloud,  of 
the  same  nature  as  the  Shechinah,  which  guided  the  Israelites  by  night 
in  their  journeyings  through  the  wilderness.  But  this  difficulty  has 
arisen  from  adopting,  with  implicit  confidence,  a  mere  hypothesis  of 
modern  philosophy ;  a  hypothesis,  which  the  recent  improvements  in 
science  serve  to  render  every  day  more  questionable.  Instead  of  the  great 
elementary  body  of  light  emanating  from,  the  sun,  there  is  reason,  to  be- 


NO    HISTORY    OF    THE    BEGINNING.  23 

ries  were  among  the  conditions  of  the  "  beginning,"  in  the  sense 
which  is  claimed  for  that  term,  how  it  happens,  that  they  are  de- 
scribed as  first  coming  into  being  on  the  fourth  day,  in  the  narra- 
tive which  is  considered  to  relate,  not  to  the  "  beginning,"  but 
only  to  an  order  of  things,  which  began  myriads  of  years  after- 
wards ?  The  answer  given  is  founded  on  a  conjecture,  namely 
"  that  the  darkness  described  on  the  evening  of  the  first  day,  was 
a  temporary  darkness,  produced  by  the  accumulation  of  dense 
vapors  upon  the  face  of  the  deep  ; "  and  that  "  an  incipient  disper- 
sion of  these  vapors  may  have  readmitted  light  to  the  earth  upon 
the  first  day,  whilst  the  exciting  cause  of  light  was  still  obscured ; 
and  the  further  purification  of  the  atmosphere,  upon  the  fourth 
day,  may  have  caused  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars  to  reappear  in 
the  firmament  of  heaven."  *  We  can  conceive  some  idea/  of  the 
phenomena  here  indicated ;  but  they  are  the  mere  hypotheses  of 
science  ;  and  certainly  they  do  not  come  within  that  fair  meaning 
of  the  narration  which  they  ought  to  do,  if  it  is  to  be  received  as 
the  description  of  natural  creation.  We  hold,  that  if  it  had  been 
designed  as  a  revelation  of  the  process,  by  which  the  present  or  any 
other  order  -of  physical  nature  had  its  commencement,  that  it  would 
have  been  written,  so  as  not  to  have  presented  the  embarrassment 
which  learning  encounters  and  piety  experiences,  from  taking  such 
a  view  of  it. 

lieve,  that  light  itself  is  an  inconceivably  subtle  fluid,  pervading  all  space, 
and  wholly  independent  of  the  sun,  which  may  be  considered  as  its  prin- 
cipal excitor ;  or  the  great  agent  in  nature  which  gives  it  motion,  and 
renders  it  the  medium  of  vision.  The  late  experiments  in  chemistry  and 
galvanism  have  served  to  render  such  a  fluid  more  familiar  to  us.  Far- 
ther, we  know  that  there  are  many  substances  capable  of  emitting  light 
independently  of  the  sun.  Among  others_  may  be  mentioned,  besides 
culinary  fire,  the  different  kinds  of  phosphori,  the  diamond,  the  glow- 
worm, the  Bologna  Stone,  the  fire-fly,  ignis  fatuus,  putrescent  fish,  &c., 
and  frequently  the  waters  of  the  sea  are  seen  to  emit  light."  —  Commeri' 
taries  and  Annotatimis  on  the  Holy  Scriptures  :  By  the  Rev.  John  Hewlett, 
B.D.  "We  do  not  see  how  these  statements  meet  the  difficulty.  The 
theories  adverted  to  can  have  no  weight,  before  they  are  proved  to  be 
truths  :  this  they  have  not  been ;  and  even  i'f  they  had,  may  not  the  prior 
existence  of  the  sun  have  contributed  to  the  result  ?  Moreover,  the  facts 
selected,  seem  to  tell  against  the  argument  they  were  intended  to  sustain. 
The  light  emitted  hy  "  culinary  fire,  the  different  kinds  of  phosphori," 
&c.,  is  not  displayed  independently  of  the  sources  predicated:  nor  does 
philosophy  know  of  any  light  —  the  light  requisite  to  illuminate  the  uni- 
verse —  independently  of  the  sun. 
*  Dr.  Buekland's  Bridgewater  Treatise.     Second  edition,  pp.  29,  30. 


24  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

Another  opinion  has  been  put  fortih,  more  recent  than  thos^ 
which  have  been  noticed.  This,  somewhat  similar  to  that  which 
immediately  precedes,  regards  the  initial  verses  of  Moses  to  be  an 
announcement  altogether  independent  of  the  descriptions  which 
follow.  Tliey  are  considered  to  "  express  posteriority,  without 
defining  the  separating  interval ; "  and  during  that  interval,  those 
vast  changes  are  considered  to  have  taken  place  in  the  structure 
and  productions  of  the  earth,  which  science  so  abundantly  demon- 
strates. This,  of  course,  is  urged  to  meet  the  conditions  of  geo- 
logical facts.  It  is  next  contended,  that  the  term  earih,  employed 
subsequently  to  the  first  verse,  and  throughout  the  whole  descrip- 
tion of  the  six  days'  work,  means  only  a  limited  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface,  that  was  to  be  adapted  for  the  residence  of  man, 
and  the  animals  connected  with  him.  This  portion  is  fixed  in  a. 
certain  geographical  locality  of  Asia,  which,  having  been  brought 
into  general  ruin  and  disorder  by  geological  causes,  was  also  over- 
spread with  darkness,  similar  to  that  which  has  been  known  to 
accompany  the  disasters  of  an  earthquake.  This  was  the  chaos, 
and  that  was  its  locality !  *  These  speculations  being  premised, 
the  creation  of  the  existing  species  of  things,  the  reintroduction 
of  light  by  the  removal  of  the  local  darkness,  and  thereby  the 
manifestation  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  together  with  all  the  other 
particulars  of  the  description,  are  said  to  have  taken  place  literally, 
according  to  the  Mosaic  language,  in  six  natural  days.  These 
opinions  are  elaborately  set  forth,  and  their  critical  defence  ably 
undertaken,  f  Nevertheless,  to  me,  the  argument  has  failed  to  be 
convincing. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  our  purpose,  to  discuss  any  of  the  details. 
It  is  sufficient,  for  the  general  design  we  have  in  noticing  these 
views,  to  observe,  that  they  suggest  physical  senses  to  the  terms, 
and  ideas  to  the  sentiments  which  they  express,  which  never  could 
have  sprung  out  of  the  narrative  itself;  and  also,  that  those  senses 
and  sentiments  owe  their  origin  to  scientific  conclusions,  and  not 
to  the  unbiased  study  and  general  tenor  of  the  record.  We  put 
it  to  the  fair  judgment  of  the  reader,  and  ask,  Whether  it  is  not 

*  "  There  are  no  traces  of  any  such  catastrophe  as  must  be  supposed, 
even  over  a  limited  portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  subsequent  to  the  latest 
tertiary  formation."  —  Rev.  B.  Powell,  M.A.,  &;c.  Art.  ^' Creation," 
Kitto's  Biblical  Cyclopeedia. 

f  The  Relation  between  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  some  Parts  of  Geo- 
logical Science.  By  John  Pye  Smith,  D.D.,  F.R.S.,  and  F.G.S.  Second 
edition,  p.  268,  onward. 


AIM    OF    TtiE    HYf*OTilESES>  ^ 

•80  ?  —  whether  it  is  rational  to  stippose,  that  the  Mosaic  descrip- 
tion of  creation,  refers  merely  to  certain  local  phenomena  which 
were  occurrent  in  Asia,  and  that  the  command  for  the  appearance 
of  light,  with  the  declaration  of  making  the  sun,  the  moon,  and 
stars,  meant  only  the  causing  of  those  luminaries  to  reappear  upon 
that  locality,  by  removing  the  darkness  which  aqueous  vapor,  an 
earthquake,  or  some  other  geological  causes,  might  have  produced  ? 
We  think  not. 

We  do  not  understand  the  authors  of  the  several  schemes  of 
interpretation  adverted  to,  as  designing  to  make  Moses  speak  the 
sentiments  of  modern  philosophy,  of  which  indeed  he  could  have 
known  nothing.  This  it  would  be  impossible  to  do,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  irreverence  of  such  an  attempt.  Their  principal  aim  seems 
to  have  been  to  show,  that  his  narrative  of  the  creation  is  admis- 
sive of  an  explanation,  not  inconsistent  with  such  new  discoveries ; 
and  so  to  maintain  its  position,  as  a  portion  of  the  Word  of  God, 
which  it  most  certainly  is.  We  highly  appreciate  and  most  sin- 
cerely value  this  excellent  motive,  though  we  think  the  means 
which  have  been  adopted  by  it,  are  unsatisfactory  and  erroneous. 
We  believe  that  the  whole  difficulty,  which  these  several  interpre- 
tations have  been  invented  to  remove,  lies  entirely  in  mistaking 
the  real  design  of  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis  ;  and  specially, 
in  supposing  the  initial  portion  of  them,  to  treat  of  the  physical 
creation  at  all. 

The  old,  and  what  used  to  be  received  as  the  pure  and  sunple 
sense  of  this  portion  of  the  Divine  Word,  has  been  entirely  up- 
rooted, so  that  the  great  mass  of  the  professing  Christian  church, 
is,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  actually  without  any  settled  or 
authoritative  opinion  upon  the  subject :  and  enlarged  minds  have 
well  perceived,  that  nothing  satisfactory  can  be  offered  to  its  in- 
telligent acceptance,  so  long  as  it  is  considered  tospeak  of  mun- 
dane things. 

These  circumstances  have  originated  the  opinion  within  that 
church,  and  which  is  making  favorable  advancement  among  its 
people,  that  "  it  cannot  be  history  —  it  may  be  poetry."  The  facts 
to  which,  as  "  poetry,"  it  may  be  considered  to  relate,  have  yet  to 
be  unfolded.  We  concur  with  the  sentiment  that  "  it  cannot  be 
history  : "  —  that  is,  it  cannot  be  the  history  of  the  origination  of 
the  outer  world  with  its  physical  inhabitants :  nevertheless  we 
think  that  it  is  history, . —  the  history  of  certain  processes  of  the 
human  mind  (as  intimated  at  the  outset)  by  which  it  has  succes- 
3 


26  ANTEBlLtrVUN   illStORf. 

sively  risen  from  darkness  into  light,  —  by  which  its  feeble  be^ft-» 
mngs  of  intellectual  life,  were  developed  into  rnoro  vigorous  ac- 
tivity and  greater  excellence  —  by  which  a  numerous  and  diversi- 
fied series  of  living  affections,  was  brought  into  active  existence ; 
and  that  finally,  the  whole  process  resulted  in  the  production  of 
that  spiritual  structure,  which  is  described  as  having  been  in  the 
image  of  God. 

It  is,  we  most  sincerely  believe,  the  particulars  of  this  general 
process,  of  which  tiie  first  chapter  of  Genesis  is  the  history :  —  a 
history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  those  spiritual  things,  connected 
with  the  development  of  man  into  the  Divine  Image  ;  but  written 
in  a  symbolical  style,  agreeably  to  the  method  prevalent  among 
the  ancients  —  a  style  founded  in  the  relationship,  which  a  high 
state  of  human  excellence  perceived  to  exist,  between  spiritual 
and  natural  things,  and  which  general  style  has  been  adopted  by 
God,  as  the  true  vehicle  for  all  his  revelations. 

The  communication  of  spiritual  intelligence  is  tlie  chief  end  of 
God's  Word.  And,  although  the  disclosure  of  certain  information 
concerning  the  beginning  of  mundane  things,  may  be  considered 
as  coming  within  the  province  of  revelation,  because  without  it, 
no  absolute  knowledge  of  such  things  can  be  attained ;  yet  the 
main  purpose  of  the  revelation  vouchsafed  to  us  is,  not  to  teach 
God's  arrangements  in  the  laws  and  productions  of  outer  nature, 
but  to  announce  to  us  the  order  and  operation  of  an  inner  life,  — 
to  furnish  information  concerning  spiritual  things,  —  to  point  out 
the  wisdom,  show  the  benignity,  and  exhibit  the  love  of  God  for 
the  souls  of  men.  The  Bible  contains  the  moral  and  spiritual  his- 
tory of  our  race,  —  that  is,  the  history  of  the  interior  and  undying 
things  of  man,  and  it  speaks  of  other  things  in  subordination  to 
this  object,  and  uses  them  solely  for  that  purpose.  The  natural 
cosmogony  of  the  universe  is  not  given  therein.  Although  this 
idea  may  be  reluctantly  received,  science  and  criticism  leave  no 
choice  in  the  matter. 

How,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  are  we  to  understand  the  reasons 
which  are  given,  for  the  ordination  and  keeping  of  the  Sabbath ; 
namely,  "  In  six  days,  the  Lord  made  the  heaven  and  earth,  the 
sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day  ;  wherefore 
the  Lord  blessed  the  sabbath-day,  and  hallowed  it  ?  "  (Exodus  xx. 
11.)    This  point  deserves  a  moment's  attention. 

The  Israelitish  people,  at  the  time  the  commandments  were 
given,  had  sunk  very  deeply  into  a  gross  and  sensual  condition. 


THE    SEVENTH    DAY.  2t 

They  had  scarcely  any  conception  of  spiritual  truth,  and  were 
withheld  from  the  wickedness  and  ignorance  of  open  idolatry, 
more  from  the  fear  of  consequences,  than  from  any  real  knowl- 
edge, or  love  of  God.  The  interior  truths,  expressed  under  the 
symbols  of  six  days'  creation,  had  even  then  long  been  mistaken 
for  a  matter-of-fact  history ;  and  therefore,  a  reference  to  it  (for 
some  writing  or  memorial  declaring  it,  was  evidently  known  to 
them)  as  an  apparent,  and  not  as  a  genuine  truth,  became  service- 
able and  useful  to  a  people  circumstanced  as  they  were  j  and  who 
clung  with  such  pertinacity,  as  all  their  subsequent  history  proves 
them  to  have  done,  to  documentary  and  traditional  sentiments, 
however  erroneous,  provided  they  had  some  association  with  their 
own  antiquity.  * 

Besides  the  reason  for  alluding  to  the  six  days'  work  in  the 
commandment,  founded  on  an  apparent  truth,  and  adopted  in  ac- 
commodation to  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  there  is  another 
cause  founded  on  genuine  truth,  and  suited  to  the  intellectual  dis- 
cernment of  studious  minds. 

The  Sabbath  was  instituted  for  a  sacred  purpose  ;  it  was  to  be 
a  day  in  which  spiritual  things  were  to  receive  special  and  distin- 
guished attention  on  the  part  of  man,  because  (as  all  the  institu- 
tions essentially  Israelitish  were  representative)  it  represented  the 
peace  and  holiness  of  the  Lord,  in  having  .accomplished  the  work 
to  which  the  first  of  Genesis  relates,  considered  in  its  internal, 
which  is  its  genuine,  sense.  When  we  see,  what  by  and  by  we 
shall  endeavor  to  prove,  that  that  work  was  a  spiritual  process,  by 
which,  through  six  successive  stages,  humanity  was  developed 
into  the  image  of  God ;  and  when  we  farther  remember,  that  such 
development  must  have  been  the  Lord's  own  merciful  work,  then 
we  shall  be  able  to  see  the  force  and  reasonableness  of  the  argu- 
ment, which  the  commandment  asserts.     It  refers  to  a  process, 

*  That  the  Scriptures  contain  a  great  variety  of  statements,  which  are 
mere  adaptations  to  the  prevailing  ideas  of  the  times  in  which  they  were 
produced,  is  well  known.  That  this  is  the  case  in  the  matter  referred  to, 
seems  evident,  because  it  will  hardly  be  pretended,  that  God  had  so  to 
work  during  the  six  days  of  creation,  as  to  experience  fatigue  and  require 
repose  upon  the  seventh.  Moreover,  in  the  repetition  of  the  command- 
ment, given  in  Deuteronomy  v.,  the  above  reason  for  the  institution  of 
the  Sabbath  is  altogether  omitted,  and  instead  thereof,  the  sons  of  Israel 
were  told,  that  it  was  to  be  kept,  in  remembrance  of  their  having  been 
delivered  from  servitude  in  Egypt  ;  which  reason,  historically,  is  a  piu:e 
Accommodation  to  the  ideas  of  the  Israelites  in  respect  to  that  event. 


28  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY, 

through  which  it  had  pleased  the  Lord  to  raise  man  into  a  state 
of  spiritual  excellence,  and  at  the  same  time,  regards  this  process 
as  essential  to  the  security  of  all  the  privileges,  which  the  Sabbath 
not  only  represented,  but  which,  as  a  selected  portion  of  time,  wa» 
to  be  employed  as  a  means  for  upholding.  The  literal  structure 
of  the  above  reason,  then,  is  in  conformity  with  the  literal  struc- 
ture of  the  first  of  Genesis,  because  they  both  relate  to  the  same 
spiritual  fact,  and  conduce  to  the  internal  rest,  peace,  and  sanc- 
tity of  man.  The  people,  at  the  tirate  of  the  Exodus,  had  long- 
mistaken  the  outer  sense  of  this  latter  document  for  its  actual 
meaning ;  but  the  reason  adverted  to  was  not  written  to  confirm 
them  in  that  error ;  its  true  object  was  to  recognize  its  spiritual 
design,  and  therefore,  it  is  referred  to  in  a  suuilar  style  of  expres- 
sion, —  a  style  which  inspiration,  —  considered  as  the  utterance 
of  tliose  living  sentiments,  which  were  to  have  responses  in  per- 
petuated humanity,  —  preferred  to  adopt. 

These  considerations  show  very  satisfactorily,  that  the  Mosaic 
description  is  not  to  be  received  as  a  circumstantial  history  of 
physical  creation.  The  best  minds  have  been  compelled,  by  irre- 
sistible evidence,  to  abandon,  as  erroneous,  the  popular  and  long- 
standing view  which  has  been  cherished  concerning  it :  and  al- 
though great  efforts  have  been  made  to  sustain  the  idea  of  its 
cosmogonal  character  in  some  sense,  yet  it  is  evident,  from  the 
specimens  of  those  efforts  which  have  been  adduced,  that  such 
senses  are  not  those  which  Moses  intended.  But  the  giving  up 
of  such  an  interpretion  of  the  narrative,  by  no  means  involves  any 
impeachment  of  its  Divine  authenticity :  that  fact  concerning  it 
stands  upon  other  grounds,  and  it  is  indicated,  rather  by  the  intel- 
lectual experiences  of  mankind,  than  by  any  agreeiii^nt  of  its 
statements  with  mundane  phenomena. 

But  rational  investigation,  and  the  appliances  of  science,  have 
not  only  disturbed  the  erroneous  interpretations,  which  liave  so 
long  weighed  upon  this  portion  of  God's  Word ;  they,  also,  bring 
considerations,  which  extensively  affect  the  supposed  historical 
character  of  several  succeeding  chapters. 

For  instance,  how  difficult  is  it  to  conceive,  that  Eve  was  really 
made  from  a  rib,  taken  from  Adam,  during  a  deep  sleep,  induced 
upon  him  for  the  purpose  ;  —  that  a  tree  could  produce  the  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil ;  —  that  a  serpent  was  capable  of  speech^ 
and  reasoned  so  sucqessfuUy  with  the  woman,  as  to  induce  her  to 
violate  the  command  of  God  L 


DIFFICULTIES   OP   THE    LITEHAL    SENSE.  29 

Moreover,  in  the  fourth  chapter,  there  is  an  indication  of  the 
existence  of  another  race  of  men,  besides  those  described  as  the 
descendants  of  Adam,  and  who  are  popularly  regarded  as  the 
first  progenitors  of  the  human  race.  When  Cain  went  forth  from 
the  face  of  the  Lord,  it  is  said  that  a  mark  was  set  upon  him,  lest 
any,  finding  him,  should  slay  him.  At  that  period,  Cain  was  the 
only  surviving  descendant  of  Adam,  who,  with  his  mother.  Eve, 
made  only  three,  then  in  existence.  Why  then  set  a  mark  upon 
him,  to  prevent  others  from  slaying  him,  if  there  were  no  other 
persons  than  his  father  and  mother  to  perpetrate  the  deed  ?  Surely, 
the  circumstance  of  imposing  a  mark  for  such  a  purpose,  plainly 
indicates,  to  historical  criticism,  the  existence  of  another  race 
besides  that  of  Adam.  There  is,  also,  another  fact,  leading  to 
the  same  conclusion,  related  in  the  same  chapter.  Cain  is  de- 
scribed to  have  possessed  a  wife  ;  but  there  is  no  intimation  of 
her  origin :  he  also  had  a  son,  and  built  a  city  in  the  land  of  Nod ; 
which  circumstance  plainly  indicates,  that  a  number  of  persons 
must  have  been  there  collected,  that  some  of  them  must  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  arts,  and  many  of  them  industriously  employed 
in  erecting  required  habitations.  Further  on,  it  is  related,  that  the 
sons  of  God,  who  are  commonly  understood  to  have  been  angels, 
or  at  least,  beings  of  some  superior  nature,  fell  in  love  with  the 
daughters  of  men,  and  thereby  originated  a  progeny  that  was 
mighty  and  valiant.  We  are  also  informed,  that  the  ordinary  pe- 
riod of  human  life  extended  over  several  hundred  years,  and  that 
the  Lord  repented  that  he  had  made  man  upon  the  earth.  These, 
and  many  other  statements  which  could  be  easily  selected,  forbid 
both  science  and  criticism  to  approach  them,  if  they  are  to  be 
received  as  real  and  credible  history. 

This,  however,  was  not  its  purpose.  The  meaning  of  these 
relations  will  be  discussed  in  their  proper  place ;  we  can  here 
only  generally  observe,  that  they,  with  all  the  other  peculiarities 
recorded  in  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis,  were  never  in- 
tended to  convey  to  mankind,  any  information  respecting  the  nat- 
ural world,  or  the  earthly  history  of  its  inhabitants. 

We  believe  that  their  true  intention  was  to  describe  the  moral 
and  spiritual  states,  which  distinguished  the  people  of  primeval 
times ;  and  that  they  are  related  in  a  historical  form,  because  that 
was  the  method  of  speaking  of  such  things,  common  to  those 
early  periods  of  civilized  life. 
3# 


W  ANTEtHLUVlAN    HISTORT. 

CHAPTER  II. 

GEWERAL  STBUCTURE  OF  THE  NARRATIVE  —  CONTINUEDf. 

*'  All  who  have  treated  of  divine  subjects,  whether  Greeks,  or  Barbarians^^ 
industriously  involved  the  beginning  of  things,  and  delivered  the  truth 
in  enigmas,  signs,  and  symbols,  in  allegories  and  metaphors,  and  other 
Bvtch  figures." — Clement  of  Alexandria.    Strom.  1.  v.  p.  658.    Gx.  Ed. 

There  are  few  facts  better  established  by  learned  criticismy 
than  that  the  histories,  pretending  to  describe  the  commencement 
of  the  eastern  and  western  nations  of  antiquity,  are  of  a  singii^ 
larly  allegorical  kind,  partaking  more  of  the  spirit  of  mythology 
than  history,  and  leaning  rather  to  the  character  of  poetic  imagery 
than  historic  truth.  The  first  written  intimations  which  we  have 
of  the  beginning  of  society,  in  India,  Persia,  and  Egypt,  are  all 
of  a  mythological  kind.  If  we  examine  the  documents,  which 
have  come  down  to  our  own  time,  relating  to  the  commencement 
of  the  Scythian,  Celtic,  and  Scandinavian  nations,  the  same  fact 
is  observable.  And  every  one  is  aware  how  peculiarly  applicable 
these  remarks  are,  to  what  is  said  of  the  origin  of  the  more  recent 
nations  of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  city  of  Boetia,  in  the  former^ 
is  related  to  have  been  built  by  men  grown  from  dragons'  teeth, 
which  Cadmus  had  sown  for  the  purpose :  and  Rome  is  said  to  have 
been  founded  by  Romulus,  who,  with  his  brother  Remus,  were 
rescued,  in  infancy,  from  the  Tiber,  and  subsequently,  suckled 
by  a  wolf.  Nor  are  the  statements  made  in  connection  with  the 
beginning  of  our  own  country  entirely  freed  from  mythos  :  but  no 
one  regards  them,  and  the  others  referred  to,  to  be  historically 
true,  and  yet  every  one  must  admit,  that  they  had  a  significancy 
well  understood,  at  the  time  they  were  originally  conceived.  It 
was  evidently  the  genius  of  the  people,  in  those  times,  to  express 
some  facts  in  fable.  The  fables,  however,  have  remained,  from 
their  having  acquired  a  permanency  in  writing,  but  their  signifi- 
cance has  perished,  because  this  was  not  recorded,  and  also,  be- 
cause the  genius  to  which  it  was  perceptible,  has  passed  away. 

These  facts  are  incontestable,  and  we  are  led  from  them  to 
conclude  that  the  documents  of  Genesis,  popularly  regarded  as  a 
description  of  the  origin  of  the  world,  the  beginning  of  humanity, 
and  the  first  constitution  and  progress  of  society,  are  somewhat 
of  a  similar  character,  and  that  they  describe  the  moral  sentiments 
and  religious  conditions  of  men,  through  their  corresponding  images 
in  nature. 


ANCIENT   HISTORY   ALLEGORICAL.  31 

The  peculiar  genius  of  the  people,  by  whom  the  mythological 
history  of  nations  was  constructed  and  understood,  was  but  the 
remains  of  a  very  superior  condition  of  human  character.  Their 
mythic  narratives  were,  for  the  most  part,  expressed  through  the 
fanciful  selection  of  arbitrary  and  conventional  images.  But  in  a 
more  remote  antiquity  —  nearer  those  times  which  the  poets  have 
described  to  be  the  golden  age  —  men  lived  under  the  influence 
of  more  enlightened  perceptions  and  sounder  views.  Their  supe- 
rior states  must  have  enabled  them  to  see,  in  natural  objects,  the 
actual  symbols  of  those  divine  and  spiritual  sentiments,  out  of 
which  they  had  originated :  and  under  the  influence  of  such  a 
fact,  it  is  easy  to  imagine,  that  they  would  be  led  to  express  their 
own  thoughts  and  sensations,  by  means  of  appropriate  images 
drawn  from  the  theatre  of  nature.  And  we  conceive  that  it  was 
in  such  times,  and  by  men  of  this  genius,  by  whom,  under  the 
Divine  auspices,  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis  were  produced. 
Even  Josephus,  Pharisee  as  he  was,  informs  us  that  Moses  "  spoke 
some  things  wisely,  but  enigmatically,  and  under  a  decent  alle- 
gory : "  and  in  another  place,  he  asserts,  that  after  the  description 
of  the  seventh  day,  "  he  began  to  talk  philosophically,"  *  that  is, 
to  express  his  history  in  some  symbolical  manner. 

The  more  deeply  we  look  into  ancient  history,  the  more  cer- 
tainly shall  we  be  convinced,  that  the  style  of  writing  which  then 
prevailed,  was  of  an  allegorical  character,  and  that  the  outer  things 
narrated  can  only  be  considered  as  the  vehicles,  employed  for  the 
expression  of  some  inward  sentiment  and  thought.  Concerning 
this,  many  authorities  could  be  produced  from  the  "  Fathers  "  and 
others,  if  it  were  needful  for  so  clear  a  truth.  Origen,  however, 
plainly  asserts,  that  the  narratives,  describing  the  making  of 
woman  and  the  conversation  of  the  serpent,  were  allegories  ex- 
pressive of  some  oth^  facts  than  what  appear,  f 

The  period  of  actual  history,  apart  from  that  contained  in  the 
Bible,  cannot  be  traced,  with  any  certainty,  far  beyond  the  period 
of  the  first  Olympiad.  The  narratives  produced  before  that  time, 
whatever  might  have  been  their  precise  meaning,  are  found  to  be 
pregnant  with  marvellous  relations.  Subsequently,  this  method  of 
expression  fell  into  disuse.  The  genius  of  the  people  in  after-ages, 
Decame  less  poetic  and  niore  matter-of-fact :  and  every  one  now 

*  See  Antiquity  of  the  Jews,  Preface,  sec.  4,  chap.  1,  sec.  1. 
T  Cont,  Cels.  1.  iv.  p.  187,  Ed.  Sp.    Referred  to  by  the  Rev.  S.  Noble, 
Plen.  Ins.  p.  659.  .^, 


32  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

perceives  that  the  wonders,  indicated  in  the  fragmental  writings  of 
antiquity  which  have  come  down  to  us,  are  not  to  be  received  in 
their  literal  sense. 

This  has  been  the  fate  of  those  profane  documents,  because,  not 
having  been  hallowed  by  the  sentiments  of  religious  respect,  they 
have  been  subjected  to  other  thinking.  Yet  the  statements  which 
are  contained  in  the  Bible  narrations,  before  the  time  of  Abram, 
are  not  less  amazing;  and  mankind  would  long  ago  have  ac- 
knowledged their  mythic  character,  but  for  the  powerful  influence 
of  a  traditional  opinion  to  the  contrary.  But  this  can  have  but 
little  real  weight,  when  it  is  remembered,  that  such  traditions  were 
originated  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  at  a  time  when  the  true  sig- 
nification of  those  writings  had  long  been  overlooked. 

It  is  well  known,  that  there  is  a  remarkable  resemblance  in 
points,  between  several  events  mentioned  in  acknowledged  mythol- 
ogy, and  some  of  the  circumstances  related  in  the  early  portions 
of  Genesis :  *  as,  for  instance,  between  the  flood  of  Deucalion,  and 
that  of  Noah ;  and  between  the  Gigantes  and  Titanes  of  the  Greeks, 
and  the  giants  and  mighty  men  spoken  of  in  Genesis,  vi.  4.  It 
has  been  usual  to  regard  such  points  of  Attic  and  Oriental  mythol- 
ogy as  resemble  the  scripture  narrations,  to  have  been  derived 
therefrom,  and  that  the  other  descriptions,  with  which  we  find 
them  associated,  are  the  legendary  embellishments  of  the  respec- 
tive nations  where  they  exist.  This  might  have  been  the  case. 
But  if  so,  it  may  be  considered  as  offering  some  proof,  that  the 
people  esteemed  such  narratives  (whether  derived  to  them  from 
traditional  or  documentary  sources,  matters  not)  as  embodying 
some  other  idea  than  what  is  literally  expressed.  They  would 
hardly  have  chosen  what  they  believed  to  have  been  the  actual 
facts,  pertaining  to  a  more  ancient  people,  to  express  the  mytho- 
logic  history  of  themselves.  They  must  have  seen,  in  some  meas- 
ure, the  isoteric  meaning  of  what  they  so  selected,  and  thence  its 
suitability  for  being  incorporated  into  their  own  mystic  relations. 
The  extravagances  of  those  relations,  of  course,  render  them  in- 
credible as  facts :  nevertheless,  they  must  have  been  designed  to 
express  som6  ideas  and  sentiments,  readily  understood  at  the  time 
of  their  origination.  The  adoption  of  points  to  be  found  in  scrip- 
ture narratives,  into  the  fabulous  relation  of  later  times,  evidently 
suggests  that  they  were  considered  of  a  figurative  character. 

*  See  Analysis  of  Ancient  Mythology,  by  Jacob  Bryant.  And  the  Dis- 
sertations of  Sir  Wm.  Jones  in  the  Asiatic  Researches. 


MEMORIALS    OF    THE    DELUGE.  33 

It  is  readily  admitted,  that  mythological  and  traditional  intima- 
tions of  the  deluge,  are  to  be  found  among  all  nations.  Sculptures 
among  tiie  Egyptian  antiquities,  and  pictures  among  the  more  re- 
cent nations  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  have  been  discovered,  which  are 
interpreted  to  be  the  memorials  of  that  catastrophe.  It  is  also 
said,  that  ceremonies  and  sacrificial  rites  were  instituted  for  its 
commemoration  among  the  Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Phcenicians, 
Greeks,  Celts,  and  Scythians.*  Inscriptions  are  collected,  and 
even  an  ancient  medal  and  a  vase  have  been  produced,  having 
upon  them  objects  allusive  to  the  deluge,  f  These  circumstances 
are  commonly  referred  to,  as  affording  the  most  triumphant  proofs 
that  the  Noetic  deluge  was  a  flood  of  waters,  in  agreement  with 
the  literal  sense  of  the  narration.  But  we  contend,  that  all  these 
facts  may  be  granted,  and  yet  that  conclusion  be  consistently 
denied. 

It  is  evident,  that  the  narrative  of  the  flood,  points  to  a  very 
awful  circumstance,  brought  about  by  the  wickedness  of  man. 
But  the  language,  in  which  it  was  originally  described,  may  still 
be  figurative,  and  the  evidences  referred  to,  nothing  more  than  the 
traditional  indications  of  the  event  so  related.  All  those  legends 
and  historical  notices  must  have  sprung  from  one  locality  and  the 
same  description;  they,  therefore,  do  not  prove  that  the  literal 
sense  of  such  description  is  to  be  received  as  credible  history : 
they  only  preserve  some  general  reminiscences  of  the  mode,  in 
which  the  circumstance  was  originally  related ;  they  do  not  ex- 
hibit its  signification.  That  stands  upon  other  ground,  and  has  to 
be  deciphered  by  other  means. 

There  cannot  be  any  reasonable  doubt,  that  the  early  portions 
of  Genesis  were  the  productions  of  a  period,  in  which  it  was  cus- 
tomary for  mankind  to  express  their  religious  states  and  sentiments 
in  the  form  of  allegory.  If,  then,  those  documents  really  did  be- 
long to  such  a  period,  and  were  the  performances  of  such  a  genius, 
it  is  evident  that  they  must  have  partaken  of  such  a  style  ;  X  and 

*  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  on  Scripture  and  Geology.  Second  edition,  p.  101. 
See  also,  Records  of  Creation.  By  John  Bird  Sumner,  M.  A.  Second 
edition,    p,  39. 

t  Dr.  Wiseman's  Lectures  on  the  Connection  between  Science  and  Re- 
vealed Religion.  Second  edition,  pp.  321,  336,  where  engravings  are 
inserted. 

X  This  argument  is  very  beautifully  stated  in  the  following  passage  : 
*'  Let  it,  for  a  moment,  be  supposed  that  it  had  pleased  the  Divine  Majesty, 


34  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

therefore,  they  are  not  to  be  understood  in  the  sense  which  the 
letter  conveys ;  that  would  be  a  certain  distortion  of  their  true 
meaning. 

In  referring  the  production  of  those  remarkable  documents,  to  the 
period  in  which  that  peculiar  genius  prevailed,  we  do  not  mean  to 
insinuate  that  they  are  the  mere  fanciful  results  of  that  genius. 
We  regard  them  as  containing  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty, 
and  venerate  them  as  portions  of  the  pure  Word  of  God.  What 
we  intend  by  this  reference  is,  that  God  was  pleased  to  adopt, 
as  the  vehicle  for  his  communications,  the  mode  and  style  then 
prevalent  with  men,  yet  so  regulating  the  expressions  and  mar- 
shalling the  narrative,  that  it  should  contain  no  word,  indicate 
no  sentiment,  declare  no  story,  but  what  was  the  exact  counterpart 
of  some  spiritual  things. 

This  characteristic,  indeed,  must  be  acknowledged  to  pervade 
the  whole  Word  of  God,  though  the  representations  that  were  se- 
lected, in  those  remote  times,  appear  to  have  been  more  recondite, 
than  those  which  were  adopted  at  a  latter  period,  in  consequence 
of  mankind  having  began  to  mistake  their  sense,  or  falsify  their 
meaning. 

The  Scriptures,  peculiarly  Israelitish,  commence  with  the  history 
of  the  house  of  Abram ;  that,  indeed,  contains  real  facts  as  they 
are  described;  nevertheless,  they  are  to  be  considered  as  the 
mediums  for  containing,  and  representatively  expressing,  those 
interior  sentiments  and  spiritual  ideas,  which  are  proper  to  them 
as  a  Revelation.  The  mere  literal  facts  and  history  can  hardly,  in 
themselves,  be  viewed  as  revelations :  it  would  be  unsatisfactory, 

to  grant  an  immediate  revelation  of  his  authority  and  his  grace  to  the 
Athenians,  in  the  age  of  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle,  and  for  their  use ; 
we  may  reverentially  believe  that,  in  such  a  case,  the  communication 
would  have  been  expressed  in  the  terms  and  phrases  to  which  they  had 
habituated  themselves,  and  moulded  upon  a  system  of  references  to  the 
natural  scenery  around  them,  to  their  modes  of  action  in  social  life,  and 
to  their  current  notions  upon  all  other  subjects.  Not  only  would  the 
diction  have  been  pure  Greek,  but  the  figures,  the  allusions,  and  the  il- 
lustrations, of  whatever  kind,  would  also  have  been  Attic,  The  He- 
braized style  which  was  adapted  to  the  people  of  Israel,  would  have  failed 
to  convey  just  sentiments  to  the  men  of  Greece  ;  for  though  it  would  not 
have  been  absolutely  unintelligible,  the  collateral  ideas  would  have  been 
misapprehended,  false  bye-notions  would  have  insinuated  themselves,  and 
the  principal  sentiments,  to  inculcate  which  was  the  object  of  the  whole 
process,  would  have  been  grievously  distorted."  —  Dr.  Pye  Smith.  Scrip-' 
iure  and  Geology,  p.  239. 


I;-  TH£  KAftilAfiVfi  INSl^iREC.  35 

i6  suppose  that  any  other  divine  interference  with  their  production 
took  place,  than  what  Was  requisite  to  determine  the  particular 
points,  which  were  to  be  stated  as  the  true  representations  of  spirit- 
ual realities,  the  disclosure  of  which  must  been  their  main  object, 
considered  as  revelationa  from  God. 

But  the  character  of  the  Bible  narratives,  anterior  to  the  time 
of  Abram,  though  equally  divine,  is  observed  to  be  very  different 
in  their  literal  structure,  and  some  critics,  from  an  apparent  irreg- 
ularity in  the  arrangement,  have  considered  them  fragmentary 
selections,  and  others  pronounce  them  to  be  distinct  composi- 
tions. *  However  this  may  be,  they  are  plainly  the  productions 
of  another  hand,  than  that  which  has  written  the  history  of  the 
house  of  Abram ;  and  there  is  some  reason  to  believe,  that  they 
formed  a  portion  of  a  more  ancient  revelation  from  Gpd,  than  that 
which  is  now  extant.  Moses  himself  has  intimated,  that  there 
were  books  of  divine  authority  among  mankind,  antecedent  to  his 
time.  He  has  referred  to  them  by  name,  cited  passages  from  them, 
and  embodied  them  in  his  own  Pentateuch.  Thus,  after  describ- 
ing the  several  joumeyings  of  the  sons  of  Israel,  and  particularly 
their  removal  from  "Zared  to  the  other  side  of  Arnon,  he  writes : 
"  Wherefore  it  is  said,  in  the  Book  of  the  wars  of  Jehovah,  what 
he  did  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  in  the  brooks  of  Arnon,  and  the  streams 
of  the  brook  that  goeth  down  to  the  dwelling  of  Ar,  and  lieth  upon 
the  border  of  Moab."  f  And  again,  after  announcing  the  conquests 
of  the  Israelites  over  the  Ammonites  and  the  villages  of  Heshbon, 
he  writes,  "  Wherefore  say  the  Enunciations,  [Hammoshtlim,  i.  e., 
the  books  of  the  Enunciations,  as  we  say  Prophets,  for  the  books 
of  the  Prophets,  which  idea  is  obscured  by  the  common  translation, 
"  They  that  speak  in  proverbs,")  "  come  unto  Heshbon,  let  the  city 
of  Sihon  be  built  and  prepared :  for  there  is  a  fire  gone  out  of 
Heshbon,  and  a  flame  from  the  city  of  Sihon ;  it  hath  consumed 
Ar  of  Moab,  and  the  lords  of  the  high  places  of  Arnon."  (Num- 
bers xxi.  14,  27.)    These  passages  announce  the  existence  of  two 

*  See  Vater's  Fragment  Hypothesis :  Eichhorn's  Document  Hypoth- 
esis, and  Dr.  P.  Smith's  Geology  and  Scripture,  Note,  p.  202. 

t  Numbers  xxi.  13.  As  a  fact,  bearing  upon  the  great  antiquity  of  the 
Book  here  cited  from,  Dr.  Lamb,  Master  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cam- 
bridge, has  remarked  "  that  in  this  short  passage,  we  find  a  verb  (vahab) 
which  occurs  no  where  else  in  the  Bible."  —  Hebrew  Hieroglyphics,  p.  9. 
It  is  considered  to  have  been  a  word  obsolete  in  the  time  of  Moses,  and 
thus  that  the  book  in  which  it  occurs,  must  have  been  a  production  long 
anterior  to  his  time. 


3d  antediluvian  HtStORt. 

books,  and  that  one  of  them  was  distinguished  by  a  historical,  and 
the  other  by  a  prophetical  character.  In  other  portions  of  the 
Word,  we  find  citations  from  another  work,  called  the  "  Book  of 
Jasher,"  and  the  writers  apply  what  they  have  quoted  from  it,  to 
events  which  were  then  in  the  course  of  being  accomplished. 
(Joshua  X.  12,  13 ;  2  Sam.  i.  17,  18.) 

That  those  ancient  books  were  produced  under  divine  superin- 
tendence, and  designed  for  the  spiritual  guidance  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  were  originally  vouchsafed,  seems  evident,  from  the 
formal  manner  in  which  they  are  referred  to,  and  the  authority  con- 
ceded to  them.  That  one  of  them  was  constructed  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  expressing  mental  things  in  a  historical  manner,  plainly 
appears  from  the  passage  that  is  quoted  from  it.  As,  then,  it  is 
certain,  that  the  early  portions  of  Genesis  are  distinguished  by  a 
peculiarity  of  composition,  proving  them  to  be  documents  of  an  en- 
tirely different  character  from  those  to  which  they  are  prefixed, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  of  their  having  originally  formed  a  part 
of  those  more  ancient  divine  records,  the  once-existence  of  which 
is  certain  from  the  fragments  which  remain.* 

But  this  conclusion  does  not  rest  merely  upon  the  probabilities 
of  rational  inference :  there  is  some  scriptural  attestation  of  the 
fact.  The  fifth  chapter  of  Genesis  commences  with  the  declara- 
tion, "  This  is  the  Book  of  the  generations  of  Adam,"  and  there- 
upon follows,  in  a  style  agreeable  to  those  times,  a  record  of  all 
his  descendants  up  to  Noah  and  his  sons.  Doubtless  this  Book  of 
Generations  was  a  written  document,  containing  the  circumstances 
which  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch  has  cited,  and  acknowledged 
in  this  instance,  as  we  have  seen  he  did  in  others. 

As,  tlien,  there  is  testimony  sufficient  to  show  that  the  Antedilu- 
vian History  in  the  Bible,  was  produced  among  a  people  whose 
genius  led  them  to  express  their  perceptions  of  interior  and  spirit- 
ual truth,  by  means  of  external  and  natural  symbols,  occasionally 
arranged  in  the  form  of  historic  narrative,  we  think  we  may  most 
fairly  and  reasonably  arrive  at  the  general  conclusion,  that  those 
documents  were  never  intended  to  record  the  origin  of  mundane 
things,  to  express  the  phenomena  of  matter,  or  to  deliver  the  social, 
civil  or  political  history  of  the  first  men.    Their  true  purpose  is  of 

*  •'  We  have  no  slight  reasons  for  supposing  that  Moses  compiled  the 
chief  parts  of  the  Book  of  Genesis,  by  arranging  and  connecting  ancient 
memoranda,  under  the  divine  direction."  —Dr.  Pye  Smith.  Scrip,  and 
Oto.    Second  edition,  p.  202. 


ONLY   THE    COMMON    VIEWS    OBJECTED    TO.  37 

«L  much  more  sacred  and  religious  cliaracter,  which  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  show.  We  shall,  also,  in  addition  to  the  general  re- 
marks which  have  now  been  made,  venture  to  adduce,  in  their 
proper  places,  such  other  particular  reasons  for  the  conclusion  ar- 
tived  at,  concerning  the  figurative  structure  of  the  Antediluvian 
History,  as  the  specific  points  may  seem  to  require.  It  is,  however, 
always  to  be  borne  in  mind,  that  those  reasons  are  designed  to 
weigh  only  against  the  yulgar  apprehension  of  its  literal  sense ; 
and  also,  that  in  no  case,  are  they  to  be  considered  as  questioning 
the  divine  origination  of  the  documents,  or  suggesting  doubts  as 
to  their  spiritual  value  and  purpose.  We  have  deemed  it  requisite 
to  make  these  statements,  because  there  are  some  minds,  who 
suppose  that  the  rejection  of  a  long  standing  interpretation,  is  the 
same  thing  as  throwing  discredit  upon  the  documents.  Against 
this  we  solemnly  protest,  We  renounce  nothing  concerning  those 
narratives,  but  that  common  opinion  concerning  them,  which  every 
sincere  student  has  found  it  difficult  to  hold.  We  receive  them 
as  a  genuine  portion  of  the  veritable  Word  of  God,  and  therefore, 
we  regard  them  as  a  Divine  Revelation  concerning  celestial  and 
spiritual  things,  and  look  upon  every  single  expression  they  con- 
tain, to  be  significant  of  some  interior  affection  and  thought  proper 
to  man,  in  the  process  of  his  religious  development,  or  attendant 
upon  him  during  the  calamity  of  his  fall. 

The  style,  in  which  these  documents  ai-e  composed,  is  the  fir^t 
of  which  we  have  any  account,  and  perhaps  it  is  the  best  adapted 
for  the  embodiment  of  divine  communication ;  because  it  appears 
to  have  been  a  method  of  expression,  which  prevailed  among  an 
orderly  and  illuminated  people,  who  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  in- 
terior perception,  and  displayed  an  activity  of  intellectual  principle, 
very  superior  to  any  who  have  lived  in  subsequent  ages.  This 
was  plainly  referred  to  by  Hannah,  when  she  said,  "  Speak  ye  what 
is  high,  let  what  is  ancient  come  forth  from  your  mouth,  for  the 
Lord  is  a  God  of  knowledge  ;"  (1  Sam.  ii.  3  ;  Improved  Transla- 
tion :)  and  also,  by  the  Psalmist,  when  he  said,  "  Incline  your  ears 
to  the  words  of  my  mouth.  I  will  open  my  mouth  in  a  parable ; 
I  will  utter  dark  sayings  of  old ;  which  we  have  heard  and  known, 
and  our  fathers  have  told  us."     (Psalm  Ixxviii.  1,  2,  3.) 

TJj^ere  are  two  modes  of  speaking  of  the  Scriptures,  frequently 
adopted,  to  which,  in  concluding  these  remarks,  it  will  be  useful 
to  refer. 

The  first  is,  that  the  statements  of  the  Scriptures  must  be  im- 
4 


3»  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY* 

plicitly  and  reverentially  received,  whether  we  understand  thena 
or  not ;  and  that  it  is  mere  presumption  for  man,  with  his  carnal 
mind  and  puny  intellect,  to  attempt  to  comprehend  those  wonder- 
ful things  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  deliver,  rather  for  his  faitJs 
than  his  knowledge !  This  may  be  a  pious  submission  to  divine 
authority,  taking  its  rise  in  religious  feeling,  but  it  is  certainly 
mistaken  in  its  application*  We  have  no  doubt  that  such  obedi- 
ence is  very  becoming,  provided  it  be  ficcompanied  with  intelli- 
gence ;  but  in  the  case  before  us,  it  wants  the  ingredient  necessary 
to  enlighten  and  give  it  value.  Those  who  can  satisfy  themselve^? 
with  such  notions,  are,  therefore,  beyond  our  reasonings.  We  can 
render  them  little  service.  They  have  faith  for  any  thing  —  but 
that  free  and  sensible  inquiry  into  the  legitimate  meaning  of  God's 
Word,  which  we  regard  to  be  the  duty  and  prerogative  of  man. 

The  second  mode,  is  that  which  asserts,  that  the  Scriptures  aye 
"  very  simple  in  their  structure ; "  and  describes  them  as  being  for 
"  simple  minds,"  "  plain  readers,"  "  the  common  people,"  "  the  un- 
learned," and  so  forth :  thereby  insinuating  that  those  explanations 
are  to  be  suspected  which  require  labor,  research,  and  intellectual 
culture  for  their  discovery  and  comprehension.  It  is  readily 
granted,  that  the  Scriptures  are  so  written,  as  to  be  serviceable 
even  to  the  lowest  states  of  human  apprehension,  but  we  do  not 
believe  that  such  a  state  apprehends  the  whole  truth,  contained  in 
Siny  one  passage  that  may  be  presented  to  it.*  There  is  just  so 
much  seen  as  the  intellectual  condition  will  admit  of,  and  no  more. 
The  highest  disclosures  of  divine  wisdom,  are  not  to  be  discerned 
by  the  lowest  states  of  the  human  mind.  The  simple  may  receive 
the  Word  in  simplicity,  but  the  wise  man  understands  it  in  wisdom, 
and  the  latter  makes  the  nearest  approaches  to  its  true  meaning. 
The  apostle  declared  the  rule  when  he  said,  "  When  I  was  a  child, 
I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child ; 
but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things."  (1  Cor.  xiii. 
11.)  The  word  is  rightly  viewed  when  it  is  regarded,  not  only  as 
capable  of  improving  the  heart,  but  also  of  enlightening  the  un- 
derstanding :  and  therefore,  its  wisdom  must  be  adapted  to  all  the 
advancing  conditions  of  the  human  mind.  It  is  the  wise  and 
friendly  character  of  revelation,  not  only  to  assist  man  in  his  in- 
tellectual elevation,  but  likewise  to  accompany  him  in  his  progress, 

*  "  Of  those  who  actually  read  the  Scriptures,  multitudes  are  very  im- 
perfectly able  to  understand  most  of  what  they  read."  —  Timothy  Dwigh^^ 
LL.  D.    Sermon  152, 


MAN    IGNOBANT    BUT    INNOCENT.  39 

and  urge  him  onwards  by  calling  attention  to  superior  heights  not 
yet  attained.  If  we  do  not  regard  the  Word  in  this  light,  we  over- 
look much  that  is  solemn  and  interesting  in  its  objects :  in  such  a 
case,  its  reality  vanishes  like  a  meteor,  and  its  spirituality  perishes 
like  a  dxeana. 

CHAPTER  IIL 

ORIGINAL  STATE  OF  MAN.  —  THE  SUCCESSIVE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  HIS 
MENTAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  POWERS.  —  HIS  DUTY  AND  PREROGATIVE  AS 
AN  IMAGE  OF  GOO, — THE  EXCELLENCY  OF  EVERY  THING  THAT  WAS 
MADE, 

**  The  foundations  of  religion  and  virtue  being  laid  in  the  mind  and  heart, 
the  secret  dispositions  and  genuine  acts  of  which  are  invisible,  and 
knovm  only  to  a  man's  self ;  therefore,  the  powers  and  operations  of 
the  mind  can  only  be  expressed  in  ^^?<ra^eye  terms  and  external  symbols  " 
—  Dr.  John  Clark.  Folio  Collection /}f  Boyle's  Lectures.  Vol.  IIL 
p.  229, 

From  the  facts  and  principles  which  have  been  laid  down,  we 
are  somewhat  prepared  to  consider  the  evidence  for  regarding  the 
early  pwtions  of  Genesis  as  treating, ^r*^,  of  the  original  state  of 
the  most  ancient  people ;  next,  of  that  progressive  development 
by  which  they  became  spiritual,  and  at  length  celestial  men,  when 
they  constituted  the  most  ancient  church  ;  afterwards  of  their  de- 
clining state  and  absolute  fall ;  then  of  the  religious  condition  of 
succeeding  generations  ;  and,  finally,  of  the  state  of  wickedness 
which  prevailed  among  the  posterity  coeval  with  the  flood,  by 
which  catastrophe  the  celestial  dispensation  perished. 

Viewed  in  this  light,  assisted  by  the  corroborations  of  other  parts 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  facts  of  spiritual  experience,  we  shall  be 
enabled  to  recognize  in  those  portions  of  the  Word,  a  meaning 
beautifully  consistent  with  themselves,  and  in  perfect  harmony 
with  all  the  demands  of  a  true  mental  philosophy ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  disclosing  principles  whereby  to  answer  every  requirement 
which  the  most  enlarged  idea  of  revelation  can  suggest. 

THE    BEGINNING. 

The  narrative  opens  with  this  beautifully  simple  declaration,  — 
*'  In  the  beginning,  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth."  The 
beginning  certainly  denotes  the  remotest  time  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  human  race ;  then  was  the  period  for  commencing 
the  operations  subsequently  described.  But  what  phenomenon 
Iras  about  to  be  operated  7    We  answer,  that  it  was  to  be  a  con- 


40  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

dition  of  humanity,  in  the  highest  development  of  which,  the  Cre" 
ator  was  about  to  produce  the  image  and  likeness  of  himself.  It 
was  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  provide  the  planes,  through 
which  this  development  could  be  accomplished  in  an  orderly  way. 
These  are  called  "  the  heaven  and  the  earth : "  the  heaven  being 
that  internal  constitution  of  man,  which  connects  him  with  a  spirit- 
ual destiny ;  and  the  earthy  that  external  condition,  by  which  he 
is  related  to  a  natural  world.  Hence,  heaven,  considered  as  the 
kingdom  of  God,  is  said  to  be  within,  (Luke  xvii.  21 ;)  and  the 
earth,  regarded  as  man's  outer  nature,  is  so  frequently  called  upon 
to  hear  the  Word  of  the  Lord.  (See  Isaiah  xxxiv.  1 ;  Jeremiah  vi. 
9 ;  xxii.  29,  &.C.,  &c.)  Of  the  existence  of  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal man,  popular  theology  is  sufficiently  cognizant.  The  apos- 
tle speaks  of  them  as  the  inner  and  outer  man.  (Ephesians  iii.  G ; 
2  Corinthians  iv.  16.)  From  this  we  learn,  that  revelation  opens 
with  infcwrming  us  that  man,  by  original  creation,  was  distinguished 
by  an  internal  and  an  external  nature ;  that  the  former  might  be 
taken  as  an  indication  that  he  had  been  endowed  with  immortality, 
and  the  latter  as  the  announcement  of  his  responsibility 

But  what  were  Ms  mental  and  moral  possessions  ?  Of  these,  at 
first,  we  think  he  must  have  been  obviously  destitute.  We  can 
hardly  conceive  the  idea  of  man  being  created  with  the  experience 
and  information^  which  mental  exertions  and  moral  qualities  would 
seem  to  imply.  Therefore,  his  original  condition,  in  these  respects^ 
could  have  difiered  but  little  from  those  states,  into  which  he  has 
since  been  born.  Thus  he  must  have  been  ignorant,  but  innocent, 
still  possessing  all  the  capabilities  for  having  developed  the  high- 
est perceptions  of  wisdom  and  the  holiest  principles  of  virtue. 
The  state,  which  lias  attended  the  beginning  of  man  in  all  ages  of 
his  perpetuation,  may  have  been  designed  to  inform  us  what  was 
his  condition  when  first  originated.  Of  the  process,  by  which  this 
wasaccomplished,  we  have  no  revelation,  but  we  are  told  some- 
thing of  the  mental  characteristics  that  first  belonged  to  him. 
"  The  earth,"  is  said  to  have  been  "  without  form  and  void,"  to  de- 
note, that,  as  to  his  external  nature,  he  was  destitute  of  the  ordcr^ 
which  arises  from  enlightened  teaching,  and  void  of  that  living  ex- 
cellency, which  springs,  out  of  active  goodness.  And  to  show  the 
accuracy  of  this  view  of  the  subject,  we  find  that  a  corresponding 
state  is  spoken  of  in  precisely  similar  language.  When  the  Jew- 
ish church  had  become  a  desolation,  the  Lord  thus  describes  its 
aspect  •  "  T  beheld  the  earth,  and  lOj  it  was  without  form  and  void ; 


MAN   I&NORANT   BtIT   INNOCENT.  41 

and  the  heavens,  and  they  had  no  light : "  ( Jer.  iv.  23 :)  nor  was  there 
any  "  man."  (Jer.  iv.  25.)  "  Darkness,"  also,  is  said  to  have  been 
"upon  the  face  of  the  deep,"  for  the  purpose  of  declaring  the  ig- 
norance, which  then  prevailed  upon  the  perceptive  capabilities  of 
the  mind.  Perception  is  the  "  face,"  be(jause,  as  it  is  well  known, 
all  its  ideas  shine  forth  therein,  and  are  indicated  thereby :  the 
mind  is  the  "  deep,"  and  hence  recondite  ttdnking  is  sometimes  so 
expressed. 

This  seems  to  inform  us  very  plainly  that  man,  by  originaljcrea- 
tion,  did  not  possess  either  the  knowledge,  or  the  love  of  divine 
things.  This  destitution,  however,  did  not  arise  from  the  voluntary 
rejection  of  those  excellences,  as  has  been  the  case  with  men  in 
after-ages,  but  because,  as  yet,  they  had  not  been  communicated. 
His  original  state,  therefore,  must  have  been  one  of  passive  inno- 
cence and  docility.  He  was  gifted  with  capacities  merely,  that 
were  afterwards  to  be  developed,  and  by  which  it  was  designed 
that  he  should  love  his  God  above  all  things,  and  his  neighbor  as 
himself.  He  was  created  perfect  in  the  degree  of  his  primeval  ex- 
istence, but  not  with  the  possession  of  those  high  things  in  which 
his  capabilities  could  result.  The  degree  was  a  faculty  to  become 
great,  but  not  greatness  itself.  It  is  this  which  distinguishes 
humanity  from  the  beast.  They  were  at  once  endowed  with  all  that 
they  were  capable  of,  to  the  end  that  they  might  obtain  no  more, 
and  so  be  beasts ;  but  man  was  created  with  capacities  only,  to 
the  end  that,  by  their  use,  he  might  knowingly  progress  in  all 
things  that  are  wise  and  good,  and  so  be  man.  The  perfection  of 
the  former,  therefore,  is  their  imperfection ;  while  the  deficiencies 
of  the  latter  became  the  ground-work  of  his  eminence. 

How  long  man  continued  in  this  primeval  state,  there  is  no  his- 
toric information.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  it  was  any 
considerable  time.  Indeed,  it  is  reasonable  to  imagine,  that  it  was 
only  of  short  duration.  The  orderly  condition  in  which  his  capaci- 
ties were  created,  would  qualify  him  to  observe  instructively,  the 
objects  and  circumstances  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  and  thence 
he  could  acquire  certain  knowledges  and  moral  impressions,  which 
would  constitute  the  intellectual  materials  on  which  the  divine  in- 
fluences were  afterwards  to  operate.  The  divine  operation  im- 
plies the  possession  of  something  on  which  to  operate,  and  from 
which  the  higher  excellences  should  be  eliminated.  These  had 
been  mercifully  provided  in  the  human  capacities,  and  the  impres- 
4# 


42  ANTEDILtrv^IAN    HISTOKY, 

Bions,  ideas,  and  sentiments  that  woald  be  made  upon  them,  dar- 
ing their  original  and  orderly  existence. 

This,  then,  we  conceive  to  have  been  the  state  of  man,  trp  to  the 
period  when  it  is  said,  that  "  the  spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters."  By  the  spirit  of  God  moving",  is  meant  the 
divine  influences  acting ;  and  the  "  waters,"  on  which  it  is  de- 
scribed to  have  operated,  are  significant  of  those  knowledges 
which  had  been  previously  acquired.  These,  by  innumerable  acts 
Off  thQ  divine  mercy,  were  stored  up  in  the  mind,  and  therein  pre- 
served, until  that  favorable  time  should  arrive  when  the  divine 
influences  might,  as  it  were,  brood  over  them,  and'  so  endow  tliem 
with  spiritual  life.  Those  knowledges  are  here  called  "  the  face 
of  the  waters,"  to  distinguish  them  from  that  ignorance  and  ob- 
scurity of  mind,  which  had  been  previously  denominated  "  dark- 
ness upon  the  face  of  the  deep." 

The  ideas  here  suggested  are  admissive  of  some  degree  of  illus- 
tration, which  may  come  home  to  the  religious  experience  of  many. 
When  a  man  remembers  the  innocence  of  his  childhood  with  de- 
light, —  when  he  feels  gratitude  attending  his  reflections  on  the 
anxiety  and  care,  which  his  rearing  and  education  must  have  cost 
his  parents,  and  when  he  experiences  pleasures  arising  in  his 
bosom  with  the  recollection  of  those  knowledges  and  attentions, 
which  friends  and  others  have  bestowed  upon  him:  —  when  he 
experiences  such  gratifying  sensations  accompanying  the  common 
knowledges  of  his  nature,  then  it  is,  that  the  spirit  of  God  is 
moving  upon  the  face  of  the  waters :  it  is  brooding  *  over  those 
knowledges,  and  indicating  the  presence  of  spiritual  life  therein, 
by  the  orderly  sensations  of  delight,  and  gratitude,  and  pleasure 
that  are  felt. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe,  that  there  is  a  remarkable  analogy 
between  the  process  here  described,  as  attending  the  creation  of 
man,  and  the  process,  which,  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  is 
spoken  of  as  belonging  to  his  regeneration.     They  are  both  treated 

*  The  Hebrew  verb,  merachepefh,  rendered  moved,  also  signifies  the  act 
of  incubation,  of  gently  cherishing,  of  brooding  over  so  as  to  evolve  a 
something  that  may  live.  .  .  .  This  harmonizes  very  beautifully  with  the 
fact  declared  by  the  Lord  when  he  said,  "  How  often  would  I  have  gath- 
ered you  together  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings," 
(Matt,  xxiii.  37.)  In  both  instances,  there  is  included  the  idea  of  bring- 
ing its  subject  into  a  condition  of  superior  life.  In  the  forjner  case  its 
evolution  out  of  the  unfallen  capacities  of  man  ;  in  the  latter,  the  disen- 
tanglement of  it  fiom  the  influences  of  iniquity.. 


CREATION    SIMILAR    TO    REGENERATION.  43 

of  as  the  result  of  the  divine  influence  and  operation.  In  the  one 
case,  God  is  said  to  move  "  upon  the  face  of  the  waters  ; "  in  the 
other  it  is  written  "  ye  must  be  born  of  water  and  the  spirit." 
(John  iii.  5.)  It  is  true,  that  the  regeneration  insisted  on  by  Chris- 
tianity, implies  the  presence  of  evil,  which,  in  the  first  creation  of 
man,  could  not  have  existed.  Nevertheless,  there  is  a  great  sim- 
ilarity in  the  two  processes,  for  the  end  contemplated  by  both  is 
the  implanting  of  the  divine  image  in  man.  In  the  one  case,  it 
was  to  be  done  before  his  fall,  in  the  other,  after  it.  And  in  this 
latter  case,  it  may  be  more  difficult  to  accomplish,  because  man, 
as  a  co-worker  with  God,  has  now  to  contend  against  his  evils, 
which  throw  obstacles  in  the  way,  and  so  retard  his  progress. 
With  this  exception,  regeneration,  considered  as  a  divine  work,  is 
very  similar  to  that  which  is  described  as  his  creation.  The  end 
of  both  is  the  same ;  so,  also,  are  the  means  viewed  in  their  first 
principles,  they  being  the  divine  influences.  The  intermediates 
are  somewhat  diflferent.  Man  is  tiow  regenerated  by  the  Lord 
through  the  external  teachings  of  his  Word  ;  tJien,  he  was  created 
by  the  Lord  through  the  interned  dictates  of  his  wisdom.  This 
flowed  into  him  by  an  interior  way,  there  being  nothing  to  oppose 
its  entrance ;  and  therefore,  it  successively  brought  forth  those 
excellences  of  character,  which  terminated  in  the  development  of 
the  divine  image.  But  now,  divine  wisdom  enters  into  man  by  an 
external  way,  because  now  there  are  evils  to  be  removed,  which 
must  be  seen  and  acknowledged  in  the  external  mind,  before  that 
"  image  "  can  be  restored  which  the  fall  obliterated.  When  this 
is  effected,  he  is  regenerated,  being  "  a  new  creature ; "  for  regen- 
eration consists  in  the  implantation  of  new  thoughts,  affections, 
and  intentions,  and  thus  in  the  actual  creation,  in  man,  of  new 
principles  of  spiritual  life  and  action.  Hence  it  is  sometimes 
called  a  creation,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Psalmist  when  he  prayed 
"  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me."  (Psalm  li.  10.)  It  is,  therefore,  a  term  declaratory 
of  the  actual  creation  of  the  orderly  principles  and  development 
of  religious  life.  It  brings  into  existence,  in  the  state  of  him  who 
is  its  subject,  a  new  intellectual  and  moral  activity,  which  are  not 
experienced  and  cannot  be  imagined  by  the  merely  natural  man, 
for  he,  says  the  apostle,  (1  Cor.  ii.  14  ;)  "  knoweth  not  the  things 
of  God."  It  is,  then,  the  creation  and  successive  unfolding  of 
states  conducive  to  this  elevated  condition  of  humanity  before  the 
fall,  which  we  believe  to  be  treated  of  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis. 


44  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

The  general  similarity  between  creation  and  regeneration  is 
evident ;  therefore,  we  may  sometimes  fairly  appeal  to  the  experi- 
ence of  the  one,  for  an  occasional  illustration  of  the  phenomena 
indicated  in  the  other. 

It  was  observed,  that  the  spirit  of  God  moving  upon  the  face  of 
the  waters,  meant  the  divine  influences  operatmg  upon  those  gen- 
eral knowledges,  which  man  had  been  enabled  to  accumulate 
during  the  early  stages  of  his  primeval  existence.  And  this  was 
the  preparatory  state  to  that  in  which  the  Lord  said,  "  I^et  there 
be  light"  —  light  in  the  mind;  for  truth  of  a  religious  nature 
could  now  enter  into  it,  and  produce  some  faint  degree  of  mental 
illumination. 

THE    FIRST   DAY. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  phenomena  of  each  day's  creation 
is  described  as  having  been  spoken  into  existence.*  The  view 
we  are  taking  of  this  narration  affords  us  a  beautiful  reason  for 
this  circumstance.  All  the  evolutions  of  spiritual  life  are  the 
results  of  the  Lord's  speaking.  It  is  well  known,  that  all  the 
good  things  of  genuine  religion  have  been  derived  to  us  from  what 
God  has  said.  Wheresoever  we  behold  any  excellence,  God  has 
first  spoken  of  it  in  his  Word,  and  by  that  speech  it  has  been 
brought  into  existence.  The  external  or  written  Word  is  the 
medium  for  these  productions  now.  It  has  spoken  Christendom 
into  being  with  all  its  influences.  God  said,  let  there  be  Chris- 
tianity, and  there  was  Christianity.  But  the  full  blaze  of  its  in- 
telligence was  not  suddenly  displayed.  We  are  not  informed  of 
the  time  it  would  require  for  realizing  all  its  objects.  The  begin- 
ning is  not  to  be  mistaken  for  its  maturity.  The  twilight  is  dis- 
played before  the  sun  arises  to  his  zenith.  God's  Word  has  spoken 
its  magnificence,  and  his  utterances  cannot  fail.  That  is  the  Word 
which  produces  the  light,  which  we  are  commanded  to  let  sliine. 
That  is  the  speech  which  brings  into  being  the  blade,  the  ear,  the 
corn,  and  fruit  that  we  are  directed  to  exhibit.  That  is  the  lan- 
guage which  originates  the  sheep  and  the  lambs,  which  Peter  was 
commanded  to  feed.  This  being  the  effect  of  God's  Word  now, 
we  at  once  see  why,  in  the  case  before  us,  the  work  of  every  day 
is   prefaced  by  the  sentence  "  God  said."  f     The  things  really 

*  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  word.  All  things  were  made  by  him,  and 
without  him  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made."  —  (John  i.  1 — 3.) 

t  It  may  be  useful  to  direct  the  reader's  attention  to  the.  frequent  oc- 
currence of  this  manner  of  expression,  in  all  the  Divine  communications 


CREATION    BY    THE    WOED.  45 

treated  of,  were  the  actual  results  of  that  sacred  speech.  It  was 
a  divine  dictate  impressing  itself  upon  the  internal  perceptions  of 
me-n,  and  designed  to  bring  into  successive  existence  the  higher 
sentiments  of  wisdom  and  faith,  with  all  their  charities  and  uses, 
which,  however,  are  described  in  its  own  symbolic  way. 

The  insemination  of  certain  ideas  of  truth  was  among  its  first 
efforts.  What  God  speaks  is  light  to  the  subject  which  receives 
it,  but  more  or  less  brilliant  according  to  the  state  of  reception. 
Without  a  right  knowledge,  nothing  truly  useful  can  be  done,  and 
the  attainment  of  that  light  is  among  the  first  efforts  of  unsullied 
love,  because  that  love,  without  intelligence,  would  be  a  blind 
impulse. 

The  Lord,  then,  imparted  light ;  this  he  "  called  day,  and  the 
darkness,  he  called  night."  These  definitions  it  is  important  to 
observe.  As  day  and  night  are  terms  expressive  of  opposite  con- 
ditions in  nature,  so  they  are  significant  of  antagonistic  states  of 
mind.  Whatsoever  proceeds  from  the  Lord  admits  of  comparison 
with  day,  because  it  is  accompanied  by  the  light  of  truth,  but 
every  thing  arising  out  of  man's  ignorance  is  associated  with 
moral  mists  and  darkness,  and  therefore,  it  is  forcibly  represented 
by  tlie  night.  The  night  here  treated  of,  does  not  at  all  enter  into 
the  composition  of  that  which  is  here  called  day,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  astronomical  definition  of  that  period.  It  is  the  light 
which  God  called  day ;  this  He  is  said  to  have  divided  (distin- 
guished, is  the  more  correct  word)  from  the  night,  to  express  that 
eternal  separation  which  must  ever  exist  between  the  truth,  which 
comes  from  Him  and  the  ideas  which  arise  with  us :  hence  he  has 
pronounced  it  good,  and  declared  "  the  evening  and  morning  "  of 
that  light  to  be  "  the  first  day,"  By  a  day  is  spiritually  signified 
a  state,  during  the  continuance  of  which,  certain  mental  and  moral 
perceptions  appear  in  tlie  mind,  and  from  which  arise  correspond- 
ing performances  of  duty.  On  this  account,  Jesus  said,  "  I  must 
work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day ;  the  night 
cometh,  when  no  man  can  work : "   (John  ix.  4 :)  the  day  here 

mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  and  especially  in  the  prophetical  portions 
of  them.  And  it  may  not  be  impertinent  to  observe,  that  it  has  been 
usual  to  infer,  from  the  circumstance  of  God's  speaking  the  world  into 
being,  that  it  was  created  out  of  nothing.  But  out  of  nothing,  nothing 
can  be  made ;  and  the  above  mode  of  announcing  the  subject  is  rather  a 
declaration  that  it  was  made  from  the  Divine  Love  by  the  Divine  Wis- 
dom. Whatever  might  have  been  the  modus  ojyerandi,  these  must  have 
been  the  origin  of  creation. 


46  ANTEDILUVIAN  HISTORY. 

alluded  to  is,  plainly,  a  favorable  state  for  carrying  out  the  divine 
purposes.  Such  also  is  the  day  in  the  subject  before  us.  It  is 
generally  admitted  that  it  cannot  there  mean  the  ordinary  idea, 
derived  from  the  diurnal  motion  of  the  earth ;  and  some  other 
interpretation  of  it  is  usually  sought  for.  Many  have  thought  that 
it  denoted  a  period  of  indefinite  extent.  But  that  is  by  no  means 
satisfactory.  God  does  not  employ  words  of  definite  meaning,  to 
express  to  men  indefinite  ideas.  A  notion  like  that  could  hardly 
be  pronounced  a  revelation.  Its  true  reference  is  to  mental  state 
and  not  to  physical  time  :  for  the  duration  of  a  state  is  to  the  ex- 
perience of  the  mind,  what  the  continuation  of  a  day  is  to  the 
experience  of  the  body  :  and  natural  days  of  clouds  and  sunshine, 
of  storms  and  serenity,  have  their  correspondence  in  states  of  men- 
tal vicissitude.  The  six  days'  creation,  then,  are  to  be  understood 
as  so  many  successive  states  of  religious  advancement,  in  the  last 
of  which,  humanity  became  an  image  of  the  Divine.  The  insem- 
ination of  the  light  of  truth  was  among  the  first  contributions  to 
this  high  result,  and  it  was  the  evening  and  the  morning  of  this 
light,  which  constituted  the  first  day ;  for  by  the  evening,  is  de- 
noted that  dim  aspect,  under  which  truth  is  at  first  perceived,  but 
by  the  morning,  is  signified  the  more  clear  and  refreshing  under- 
standing of  it. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  each  of  the  six  days  spoken  of  in  this 
chapter,  is  described  to  have  been  constituted  by  the  "  evening 
and  the  morning ; "  all  night  is  entirely  excluded  from  its  compo- 
sition. But,  from  this  more  particular  definition  of  the  term  day, 
we  are  not  to  infer  that  there  is  any  disparity  between  it  and  that 
more  general  assertion,  which  declared  it  to  consist  of  light,  for 
both  the  evening  and  the  morning  obviously  include  this  idea. 
The  reason  why  the  evening  and  morning  are  said  to  be  a  day ; 
and  why,  also,  the  evening  is  put  first  in  the  order  of  the  expres- 
sions, is,  because  the  light  of  the  divine  truth,  which  is  proper  to 
every  state  is,  in  its  beginning,  seen  only  as  in  the  shade  of  even- 
ing, but  afterwards  it  is  perceived  more  clear  and  beautiful,  and 
tlms  as  the  brightness  of  the  morning,  with  all  its  dewy  freshness 
and  fertility.  The  order  of  our  mental  advancement,  is  from  ob- 
scurity to  clearness.  We  do  not  pass  from  the  evening  to  the 
night,  and  thence  on  to  the  morning.  That  is  an  order  which  be- 
longs to  the  succession  of  natural  time,  but  not  to  the  progressions 
of  spiritual  state  ;  and,  therefore,  the  term  night,  proper  to  the 
vicissitudes  of  time,  is  carefully  excluded  from  the  description. 


THE    FIRMAMENT.  47 

Thus,  the  very  order  and  peculiarity  of  the  expressions  said  to 
.constitute  a  day,  afford  a  remarkable  evidence  that  a  description 
of  spiritual  things  is  the  chief  purpose  of  the  narrative. 
But,  let  us  pass  on  to 

THE    SECOND    DAY. 

"  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  a  firmament  in  the  midst  of  the 
waters,  and  let  it  divide  the  waters  from  the  waters  —  and  it  was 
so.  And  God  called  the  firmament,  heaven  :  and  the  evening  and 
the  morning  were  the  Second  Day." 

By  a  firmament,  in  a  merely  literal  sense,  is  meant  the  sky 
which  is  above  us  :  but  that,  it  is  well  known,  does  not  constitute 
a  partition  for  any  of  the  waters  of  nature.  Moreover,  tJiis  firma- 
ment, brought  into  existence  on  the  second  day,  is  called  "  Heav- 
en." Was  this,  then,  another  heaven,  different  from  that  which 
was  originally  created,  for  "  in  the  beginning  God  created  the 
Heaven  ?  "  These  indeed,  are  difficulties  ;  but  they  exist  only  in 
the  letter ;  viewed  in  a  spiritual  sense  they  entirely  disappear. 

By  the  firmament  (more  properly,  expanse)  Avhich  is  now  brought 
into  being,  is  spiritually  meant  the  development  of  some  of  those 
interior  principles  of  thought,  which  belong  to  the  internal  man. 
These  constitute  a  mental  expanse,  which  exists  somewhat  above 
the  terrestrial  things  of  sense ;  and  they  discriminate  between  the 
knowledges  which  are  of  God,  and  the  knowledges  which  are  of 
men ;  and  therefore,  it  is  said  to  divide  (distinguish)  the  waters 
from  the  waters  ;  the  waters,  as  before  observed,  being  significant 
of  knowledges. 

And  this  firmament  —  these  interior  principles  of  thought  —  is 
now  called  heaven,  not  because  the  internal  man,  thereby  signi- 
fied, did  not  before  exist,  but  because  it  was  now  first  perceived. 
How  many  things  are  there  belonging  to  our  nature,  which  actu- 
ally exist  a  long  time  before  we  become  properly  aware  of  them  ? 
The  internal  man  exists,  and  we  may  have  this  fact  declared  to  us 
by  infallible  authority,  still  we  have  no  right  perception  of  its 
truth,  until  we  begin  a  course  of  interior  thinking.  By  this,  man 
attains  the  evidence  of  its  existence,  and  then  believes,  and  the 
evening  and  the  morning  of  this  state  is  the  second  day,  for  man 
IS  gradually  led  into  this  faith  from  things  external  to  things  inter- 
nal ;  from  the  knowledges  of  earth  to  the  intelligences  of  heaven, 
and  thus  as  it  were  from  the  evening  to  the  morning  of  every 
state. 


48  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

THE    THIRD    DAT. 

On  the  third  day,  "  the  waters  were  gathered  together  unto  one , 
place  ;  the  dry  land  appeared  ;  and  the  dry  land  was  called  earth, 
and  the  gathering  together  of  the  waters,  seas ;  and  the  earth 
brought  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit-tree 
yielding  fruit." 

That  by  waters  are  really  denoted  knowledges  concerning  re- 
ligious things,  is  certain,  from  a  variety  of  scriptural  considerations. 
As,  for  instance,  in  his  conversation  with  the  woman  of  Samaria 
the  Lord  said,  "Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall 
give  him  shall  never  thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life." 
(John  iv.  14.)  In  this  passage,  it  is  plain,  that  by  water,  is  denoted 
those  knowledges  of  religious  truth,  which  rise  up  in  the  mind 
from  the  acknowledgment  of,  and  a  faith  in,  the  Lord.  So,  also, 
the  Holy  Waters,  which  were  seen  by  Ezekiel  to  issue  from  the 
eanctuary,  were  at  first  up  to  his  ankles,  next  to  his  knees,  then  to 
his  loins,  and  afterwards  they  became  a  river  that  might  be  swam 
in,  (Ezekiel  xlvii. ; )  plainly  denoted  the  successive  increase  and 
deepening  of  those  divine  knowledges  which  proceed  from  the 
sanctuary,  or  true  church  of  God.  The  Lord  is  said  to  "  lay  the 
beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  waters  ; "  (Psalm  civ.  3 ;)  because 
his  chambers  denote  the  interior  principles  of  his  church,  while 
the  beams  thereof  signify  their  strength  ;  and  these  are  said  to  be 
laid  in  the  waters,  because  they  rest  and  have  their  sure  founda- 
tion only  in  the  genuine  knowledges  of  the  Word,  and  therefore 
it  is  that  the  Word  itself  is  described  as  "  a  pure  river  of  water 
of  life."    (Rev.  xxii.  1.) 

From  these  considerations,  it  is  evident,  that  the  gathering  to- 
gether of  the  waters  into  one  place,  denotes  the  collection  of  all 
such  moral  and  religious  knowledges  as  had  been  diffusively  im- 
pressed upon  the  mind,  and  the  storing  of  them  up  in  the  memory 
as  one  place  appropriated  for  their  reception ;  but  then,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  extent  and  depth,  together  with  the  intranquillity 
arising  from  apparent  disagreements,  they  are  compared  to  the  sea. 

But  now  it  was  that  the  dry  land  appeared,  that  denoting  the 
unproductive  nature  of  the  merely  external  man.  The  external 
man  separate  from  internal  and  spiritual  influences  proceeding 
from  the  Lord,  is  as  a  dry  and  barren  land  :  none  of  the  good 
things  of  love  and  truth  can  spring  up  and  grow  therein.  It  is 
important  that  this  characteristic  of  it  should  be  known.     The 


THE    DRY    LAND.  4& 

collection  of  the  religious  knowledges,  above  adverted  to,  confers 
this  information,  and  thereby  the  "  dry  land  appears."  Still,  God 
called  it  earth ;  that  was  the  name  conferred  upon  the  external 
man  at  the  beginning.  It  is  now  spoken  of  as  land,  because  in 
this  process  of  spiritual  development,  it  npw  first  appeared  with 
true  distinctness  ;  nevertheless,  in  order  to  prevent  any  misappre- 
hension of  its  quality,  we  are  forcibly  reminded  that  it  is  "  earth." 
By  original  creation  it  is  low  and  natural,  nor  will  genuine  knowl- 
edge concerning  it  ever  cause  it  to  appear  in  any  other  quality 
than  that  which  the  name  "earth"  suggests. 

From  the  concentration  of  the  same  knowledges  —  for  they  had 
now  become  a  sea  —  the  duty  was  perceived  of  rendering  this 
earth  productive,  to  "bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed, 
and  the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit : "  which  spiritually  signifies  the 
production  of  those  orderly  uses  by  which  the  moral  life  is  to  be 
sustained.  The  general  idea  here  indicated  is  frequently  repro- 
duced in  the  Word.  Thus  the  Lord  described  himself  to  be  the 
sower,  his  Word  the  seed,  and  the  diversity  of  moral  results  as 
fruits,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  respective  minds,  into  which 
the  seed  had  been  cast.  (Matt.  xiii.  19  to  23.)  He  also  described 
tlie  progression  of  man's  growth  in  spiritual  things,  as  "  tlie  earth 
bringing  fortli  fruit,  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear."  (Mark  iv.  28.)  There  can  be  no  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  general  facts  here  referred  to,  and  how  beau- 
tifully do  those  three  expressions  coincide  with  what  are  described, 
as  the  productions  of  the  state  now  treated  of ;  namely,  the  "  grass, 
the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit."  The 
good  which,  when  knowledge  has  been  implanted,  first  springs  out 
of  "  the  earth,"  is  somewhat  low  and  delicate,  and  hence  it  is  called 
"  grass  "  (more  properly  rendered,  tender  herh\  after  this  succeeds 
the  performances  of  uses  of  a  more  vigorous  kind,  and  these, 
because  they  are  pregnant  with  a  multiplication  of  delights,  are 
compared  to  "  the  herb  yielding  seed."  Then  follows  good  of  a 
superior  kind,  because  acknowledging  a  higher  origin,  and  this  is 
pronounced  to  be  the  "  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit."  *  How  striking 
are  these  correspondences !  from  what  principle  can  it  be  denied 
that  such  a  mode  of  explanation  is  the  true  one  ?    It  recognizes 

*  It  is  interesting  to  observe,  that  there  are  only  three  phases  of  vege- 
table production  here  referred  to,  and  that  these,  from  the  circumstance  of 
their  general  utility  to  man,  are  such  as  to  fit  them  for  being  employed 
in  this  symbolic  manner.    This  must  have  been  the  main  object  of  the 
5 


50  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

and  illustrates  the  canon,  of  "  scripture  interpreting  itself."  The 
moral  and  spiritual  affections  belonging  to  man,  at  this  stage  of  his 
upward  progress,  are  compared  to  the  growing  and  fruit-bear- 
ing things  of  the  vegetable  "vvorld ;  because,  as  yet,  he  was  some- 
what insensitive  to  the  great  fact  of  their  continued  dependence 
upon  the  Lord ;  and  thus,  that  higher  life  and  animation  had  not 
been  attained,  which  the  objects  of  the  animal  kingdom  would 
more  properly  represent. 

The  collection  of  religious  knowledges,  planting  them  in  the 
memory  as  the  great  storehouse  of  human  information,  causing  the 
infertility  of  the  merely  external  man  to  appear,  together  with  the 
effort  for  rendering  it,  in  some  measure,  more  fruitful  in  the  works 
of  use,  are  what  constitute  the  third  day  of  the  creation,  and  this, 
like  all  preceding  states,  advanced  from  a  condition  of  shade  to 
light,  wherefore  it  is  written,  that  "  the  evening  and  the  morning 
were  the  third  day." 

THE    FOURTH    DAT. 

The  phenomena  brought  into  existence  on  the  fourth  day,  are 
thus  described :  "  And  God  made  two  great  lights  ;  the  greater 
light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night :  he 
made  the  stars  also.  And  God  set  them  in  the  firmament  of  heav- 
en, to  give  light  upon  the  earth,  and  to  rule  over  the  day  and  over 
the  night,  and  to  divide  the  light  from  the  darkness."  These 
words  describe  to  us  what  are  the  great  sources  of  all  spiritual 
and  religious  illumination,  the  order  which  they  establish,  and  the 
uses  they  promote.  Light,  indeed,  had  previously  prevailed :  it  is 
stated  to  have  been  brought  into  existence  upon  the  first  day, 
when,  also,  it  is  said  that  God  distinguished  the  light  from  the 
darkness :  yet  now,  we  are  told  that  upon  the  fourth  day  God  made 
other,  but  superior  lights,*  whose  office  was  also  "  to  divide  the 
light  from  the  darkness."  These,  certainly,  are  embarrassing  state- 
ments, viewed  merely  in  their  literal  sense.  Science  has  not  seen 
how  light  and  vegetation  could  exist  before  the  sun.  Ingenuity 
has  ventured  to  suggest  a  plan,  but  philosophy  has  not  been  satis- 
fied with  the  notion,  nor  can  it  ever  be  so,  because  the  premises 

statement,  for,  as  the  narrative  does  not  contain  the  slightest  intimation 
concerning  that  vast  variety  of  genera  with  which  the  vegetable  kingdom 
abounds,  it  cannot  justly  be  regarded  as  having  been  designed  to  express 
their  physical  creation. 

*  Though  the  sun  and  moon  may  be  implied  in  this  description,  it  is  to 
be  remarked  that  they  are  not  so  expressed. 


THE    TWO    GREAT    LIGHTS. 


51 


are  wrong.  The  subject  treated  of  is  one  of  those  by  which  a 
spiritual  man  was  to  be  evoked,  and  during  that  process,  light  is 
experienced  under  two  distinctive  aspects.  The  light  which  is 
seen  by  man,  in  the  early  stages  of  his  regenerating  progress,  is 
very  different  in  its  quality,  from  that  which  is  experienced  in  his 
more  advanced  condition ;  in  the  former  case,  it  is  external,  par- 
taking somewhat  of  the  world ;  in  the  latter,  it  is  internal,  deriving 
a  quality  from  heaven.  Thus  the  light  which  is  treated  of  as 
existing  during  the  first  three  days,  represented  that  external  and 
scientific  truth  which  properly  belonged  to  the  early  stages  of 
spiritual  development,  and  by  which  preparation  is  made  for  the 
reception  of  those  more  interior  lights  of  love  and  faith :  therefore, 
it  is  said  of  those  lights,  that  they  were  placed  in  the  firmament, 
which  God  called  Heaven,  that  is,  the  internal  man. 

By  the  sun,  is  represented  the  warming,  enlightening,  and  fruc- 
tifying principle  of  the  Divine  Love ;  and  this  is  said  to  rule  the  day, 
to  inform  us  that  it  should  be  a  governing  principle,  in  all  states 
of  the  truly  religious  character  and  conduct.  By  the  moon,  is 
denoted  the  cooler  and  less  luminous  principle  of  truth,  still  truth 
derived  from  love,  (in  like  manner  as  the  light  of  the  moon,  nat- 
urally, is  procured  from  the  sun ;)  and  this  is  said  to  rule  the  night, 
to  teach  us  the  proper  dominion  of  truth,  in  all  states  of  mental 
obscurity  and  darkness.  And  by  the  stars,  are  signified  those 
numerous  and  varied  intelligences,  which  distinguish  a  state  so  far 
advanced  in  religious  life  and  excellence,  as  that  which  is  denoted 
by  the  fourth  day. 

These  significations  could  be  extensively  proved  from  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  but  as  the  most  ordinary  mind  Avill  perceive  those  analogies, 
the  citation  of  a  single  passage  must  suffice.  The  Lord,  when 
foretelling  the  consummation  of  the  first  age  of  Christianity,  said, 
"  The  sun  shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light, 
and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens 
shall  be  shaken."  (Matt.  xxiv.  29.)  By  the  sun  being  darkened 
is  meant,  that  heavenly  love  would  be  eclipsed :  the  moon  not 
giving  her  light,  denotes  that  spiritual  truth  would  fail  to  illumi- 
nate ;  and  by  the  stars  falling  from  heaven  is  signified,  that  religious 
intelligence  would  perish  from  the  internal  man :  and  thus,  that 
the  whole  spiritual  character  of  the  Church  would  experience  a 
convulsion,  signified  by  the  powers  of  heaven  being  shaken.* 

*  May  not  the  remarkable  condition  of  the  Christian  Clmrch  at  this 
d^y,  be  considered  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  above  prediction,  so  under- 
stood ? 


♦*. 


52  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

Now  those  luminaries  were  placed  in  tlie  firmament  of  heaven, 
to  give  light  upon  the  earth;  or,  in  other  words,  spiritual  love, 
truth,  and  intelligence  were  now  fixed  in  the  affection  of  the 
internal  man,  for  the  purpose  of  enlightening  his  perception,  and 
giving  life  to  the  moral  fructifications  of  the  external  man.  One, 
it  is  said,  was  to  "  rule  over  the  day,"  and  the  other  "  over  the 
night,"  to  inform  us  that  love  would  reign,  when  the  states  of 
illumination  prevailed,  and  that  truth  would  govern,  during  the 
periods  of  obscurity.  They  were  also  "  to  divide  the  light  from 
the  darkness  ; "  that  is,  they  were  to  distinguish  the  one  from  the 
other.  This,  in  the  case  of  the  first  day,  is  said  to  have  been 
done  by  God,  but  now  it  was  to  be  effected  by  those  two  lumina- 
ries. Here,  again,  the  literal  sense  evokes  a  difficulty  which 
nothing  can  allay  but  a  perception  of  the  spiritual  fact.  That 
fact  is  this.  In  the  former  case,  as  before  observed,  God  is  said  to 
have  distinguished  the  light  from  the  darkness,  "to  express  tlie 
eternal  separation  which  must  ever  exist  between  the  truth  which 
comes  from  Him,  and  the  ideas  which  arise  with  us."  But  this 
distinction  is  not  observed  by  man  in  his  lowest  states :  that  is  the 
result  of  a  superior  condition,  when  love,  and  faith,  and  diversified 
intelligence,  confer  their  discriminating  powers,  and  so  distinguish 
that  which  is  6f  man,  from  that  which  is  of  God. 

Moreover,  they  were  to  "  be  for  signs  and  for  seasons,  and  for 
days  and  years,"  to  signify  those  delightful  variations  of  state,  by 
which  man  in  this  superior  condition,  was  to  be  distinguished. 
Without  such  changes,  life  would  be  uniform,  and  the  monotony 
would  destroy  its  happiness :  mutations  of  state  are  required  to 
preserve  it  in  activity.  A  continued  sameness  would  blunt  the 
faculties,  and  produce  a  sort  of  death  upon  the  intellectual  powers. 
Man,  by  creation,  is  designed  for  the  appreciation  of  beautiful 
variety,  and  hence  the  diversified  existences  of  external  nature, 
lire  mercifully  adapted  to  supply  him  with  such  enjoyment. 
Changes  of  state,  then,  are  to  result  from  the  presence  of  those 
two  luminaries  in  the  mind.  Such  fluctuations  are  to  be  of  a 
two-fold  character :  love  was  to  cliange  the  state  of  his  delight ; 
truth  was  to  alter  the  condition  of  his  knowledge,  and  the  former 
was  to  be  for  a  sign  and  a  season  of  his  spiritual  life  ;  a  sign  to 
indicate  its  particular,  and  a  season  its  general  condition :  while 
the  latter  was  to  be  for  the  days  and  the  years  of  his  intellectual 
vigor ;  the  days  denoting  its  particular,  and  tlie  years  its  general, 
aspect. 


SIGNIFICATION    OF    SUN,    MOON,    AND    STARS.  53 

Such,  then,  were  the  productions  of  the  fourth  day,  together 
with  their  purposes.  We  recognize  a  spiritual  idea,  even  in  the 
minutest  expression,  when  we  consider  the  narrative  as  pointing 
out  the  process  of  human  development ;  but  find  it  exceedingly 
difficult  .to  educe  one  that  is  natural  and  consistent,  when  it  is 
viewed  as  indicating  physical  phenomena. 

THE    FIFTH   DAY.  , 

The  succeeding  state,  spoken  of  as  the  fifth  day,  is  described  to 
have  consisted  in  causing  the  "  waters  to  bring  forth  abundantly 
the  moving  creature  that  hath  life,  and  fowl  that  may  fly  above  the 
earth  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven." 

Here  it  is  important  to  remark,  that  it  is  the  ivaters  which  were 
commanded  to  bring  forth  the  creature  that  hath  life :  these 
waters,  it  was  shown  above,  denoted  the  knowledges  of  religious 
truth ;  and  now,  (the  man  of  whom  they  were  predicated  having 
attained  a  superior  elevation  of  character,)  they  were  endowed 
with  the  high  capability  of  bringing  into  active,  moving  existence 
the  living  principles  of  religious  virtue. 

When  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  stars,  —  love,  faith,  and  intelli- 
gence,—  are  set  up  in  the  affections  of  the  internal  man,  and 
begin  to  impart  their  light  and  warmth  to  the  external,  then  it  is 
that  all  the  vast  variety  of  religious  principles  begin  to  live. 
Before  those  spiritual  luminaries  came  into  being,  the  man  regarded 
the  knowledges  he  had  acquired,  and  the  good  he  had  done,  to 
have  resulted  from  the  simple  efforts  of  himself,  instead  of  refer- 
ring them  wholly  to  the  Lord.  This  was  among  the  ignorances  of 
his  inferior  condition ;  so  long  as  that  remained,  his  knowledge  did 
not  bring  forth  that  which  is  alive ;  and  therefore,  that  state  is 
compared  to  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  tree  bearing 
fruit,  which,  after  all,  are  but  things  inanimate.  But  when  the 
man  is  enlightened  by  genuine  love  and  faith,  then  his  knowledges 
become  the  medium  for  a  development  of  spiritual  life,  and  he  at 
once  perceives  that  the  truth  which  he  had  known,  and  the  good 
which  he  had  done,  were  operated  in  him  by  the  Lord.  This 
important  knowledge  is,  therefore,  the  source  through  which  his 
thoughts  and  affections  acquire  real  life  and  animation ;  on  which 
account  they  are  now  first  compared  to  living  things. 

It  is  declared,  that  "  every  good  gift,  and  every  perfect  gift  is 
from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights  ; "  (James 
i.  17 ;)  and,  also,  that  "  without  Him  we  can  do  nothing ; "  (John 

XV.  5  ;)  He  being  "  the  light  of  life."    (John  viii.  12.)    It  therefore 

5* 


54  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

follows,  that  whatsoever  proceeds  merely  from  the  selfhood  of 
man,  can  have  but  little  of  this  living  principle  within  it;  and 
consequently,  it  may  be  aptly  signified  by  the  insensible  objects  of 
the  vegetable  world :  but  when  all  man's  thoughts  and  affections 
are  derived  from  the  Lord,  and  humbly  acknowledged,  then  they 
must  needs  contain  within  them  the  principles  of  moving  and 
imperishable  life  ;  in  this  case  they  may  be  most  appropriately 
represented  to  us  by  the  objects  which  really  live  :  these  are  the 
reasons  why  the  preceding  inferior  states  are  indicated  by  things 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  the  succeeding  superior  states  by 
the  objects  of  animated  nature. 

By  the  moving  creature  which  the  waters  were  to  bring  forth,  is 
meant  the  living  affections  which  pertain  to  the  scientific  truths  of 
religion ;  *  these  were  commanded  to  be  brought  forth  abundantly, 
to  denote  the  multiplicity  of  uses  of  which  they  are  productive. 
But  by  the  moving  fowls,  are  signified  the  living  affections  which 
belong  to  the  intellectual  perceptions  of  religion ;  and  these  were 
to  fly  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven,  to  denote  the  range  and 
freedom  which  are  proper  to  them  in  the  now  exalted  condition  of 
the  internal  man.  The  Scriptures  furnish  innumerable  instances 
of  animals  being  mentioned  to  signify  affections  ;  many  examples 
will  be  adduced  as  we  proceed :  we  shall  here  only  refer  to  one, 
in  which  the  Lord  said,  "  I  will  make  a  covenant  for  them  with  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  and  with  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and  with  the 
creeping  things  of  the  ground."  (Hosea  ii.  18.)  It  is  plain  that 
by  beasts,  fowls,  and  creeping  things,  are  meant  certain  classes 
of  affections,  because  the  Lord  is  said  to  make  a  covenant  with 
them,  which  would  be  altogether  unintelligible  if  applied  to  such 
irrational  creatures.  The  Apostle  also  said,  "  All  flesh  is  not  the 
same  flesh  ;  but  tliere  is  one  kind  of  flesh  of  men,  another  flesh  of 
beasts,  another  of  fishes,  and  another  of  birds."    (1  Cor.  xv.  39.) 

*  It  js  to  be  observed  that  fishes  are  the  symbolic  objects  contemplated. 
The  idea  of  their  having  been  the  production  of  the  waters,  is  here  cm- 
ployed  to  represent  the  affections  of  scientific  truth,  which  belong  to  the 
external  man.  These  affections  are  among  the  lower  orders  of  religious 
things,  and  hence  they  are  represented  by  fishes,  they,  belonging  to  the 
inferior  class  of  living  nature.  The  reason  why  fishes  signify  the  affec- 
tions of  scientific  truth  is,  because  they  are  creatures  of  the  sea,  the  sea  de- 
noting the  collected  knowledges  of  the  natural  man.  See  page  48.  The 
extinction  of  this  affection  in  the  church  is,  in  the  Revelation,  described  as 
the  death  of  "  the  third  part  of  the  creatures  which  were  in  the  sea  and 
had  life."  viii.  9. 


THE   CONSTITUENT   OF   MAN.  55 

Surely,  it  did  not  require  an  Apostle  or  a  Revelation  to  tell  us 
such  common  and  ordinary  facts  as  these  are  in  their  merely  literal 
sense.  We  therefore,  infer  that  the  principal  object  of  those  state- 
ments was  to  announce  the  existence  of  a  variety  of  good  affec- 
tions and  thoughts,  which  he  considered  to  be  symbolized  by  those 
respective  branches  of  animated  nature. 

THE    SIXTH   DAT. 

Such,  then,  were  the  phenomena  of  the  fifth  day,  and  we  now 
arrive  at  the  creations  which  transpired  upon  the  sixth.  This  was 
begun  by  "  God  making  the  beast  of  the  earth  after  his  kind,  and 
cattle  after  their  kind,  and  every  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the 
earth,  after  his  kind  ;  and  seeing  that  it  was  good." 

From  this  description,  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  order  of  cre- 
ation, or  spiritual  development,  is  now  changed  ;  in  the  preceding 
case,  the  waters  were  commanded  to  bring  forth  the  moving  crea- 
tures that  had  life  ;  but  the  mention  of  all  mediate  instrumentality 
is  omitted  in  this  instance,  and  God  is  said  to  make  them. 
These  distinctions  are  for  the  purpose  of  revealing  to  us  the  differ- 
ent orders,  through  which  different  classes  of  human  affections 
come  into  being.  Man  first  acts  from  the  living  affections  of 
scientific  truth,  and  so  long  as  he  so  acts,  it  is  the  waters  —  the 
knowledges,  which  bring  forth  the  moving  creatures :  but  when 
he  aflerwards  begins  to  act  from  the  living  affections  of  spiritual 
goodness,  then  it  is  said  that  God  makes  them,  because  all  that  is 
genuinely  good  comes  to  us  directly  from  Him  who  alone  is  good. 
How  bright  and  beautiful  are  these  distinctions,  and  how  true  and 
consistent  are  they  with  religious  experience !  In  the  former  case, 
it  was  only  the  fish  and  the  fowl  —  the  affection  of  scientific  and 
intellectual  things  —  that  began  to  live ;  but  in  the  latter  it  is 
the  beast,  the  cattle,  and  creeping  things  —  the  affections  of  spir- 
itual good  in  different  degrees  —  that  began  to  live.  The  affec- 
tions of  the  former  state  originated  out  of  the  commands  of  truth, 
and  hence  it  is  said  that  the  waters  brought  them  forth,  but  the 
affections  of  the  latter  state  spring  directly  out  of  the  influences 
of  good,  and  therefore,  it  is  written,  that  "  God  made  them." 

Hence  we  learn,  that  all  the  circumstances  naiTated  in  the 
chapter  before  us,  preceding  that  which  announces  the  making  of 
man,  are  but  particular  parts  of  that  general  result ;  they  being 
descriptive  of  the  successive  states,  through  which  the  human 
principles  were  communicated,  enlightened,  and  made  alive,  and 
when  so  enlightened  and  made  alive,  he  becomes  intelligent  and 


56 


ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 


wise,  and  then  a  man  is  made.  Thus,  the  statement  concerning 
the  making  of  man,  does  not,  in  oilr  judgment,  relate  to  the  origi- 
nation of  his  physical  structure  :  we  look  upon  it  as  the  description 
of  man  in  the  possession  of  a  high  degree  of  spiritual  perfection, 
to  which  a  preceding  series  of  mental  and  moral  developments 
had  contributed. 

The  ideas  of  what  constitute  a  man,  will  change  with  the  aspect 
under  which  he  is  contemplated.  If  we  take  a  low  and  corporeal 
view  of  him,  we  shall  be  led  to  think  that  he  is  a  man  by  virtue  of 
his  form.  If  we  look  at  him  through  military  eyes,  he  will  be  pro- 
nounced to  be  a  man,  in  consequence  of  his  prowess.  The  law 
says  that  he  is  a  man,  when  he  has  lived  so  many  years :  and 
there  are  many  other  points,  from  which  the  conventionalities  of 
society  have  so  regarded  him.  But  it  is  not  any  such  ideas  as 
these,  which  God  attaches  to  the  term,  when  it  is  used  approvingly 
in  his  Word.  That  which  is  a  man,  in  the  divine  estimation, 
is  intellectual  and  spiritual  excellence.  Hence  the  Lord,  when 
speaking  of  the  destitution  of  heavenly  love  in  the  church,  said, 
"  I  beheld  the  earth,  and  lo,  there  was  no  man."  (Jer.  iv.  25.) 
And  again,  it  is  written  that  Jerusalem  would  have  been  pardoned 
of  her  sins,  if  "  a  man  "  could  have  been  found  therein ;  (Jer.  v.  1 ;) 
where,  by  a  man,  is  plainly  meant  internal  superiority  of  character. 
This  was  induced  by  the  Lord  upon  those  human  faculties,  which 
he  has  created  for  the  reception  of  himself;  and,  in  the  proportion 
in  which  man  received  them,  he  had  life  from  the  Lord,  and  so 
became  an  image  and  likeness  of  him ;  an  "  image,"  so  far  as  he 
was  in  charity  and  faith,  but  a  "  likeness,"  so  far  as  he  was  in 
love  and  wisdom.  This  is  the  man,  about  which  the  Lord  has 
made  a  revelation,  and  it  is  the  things  constituent  of  this  man- 
hood, which  required  a  revelation,  in  order  that  a  knowledge  of 
them  may  be  perpetuated  with  our  race.  "God  said.  Let  us* 
make  man  in  our  image  after  our  likeness  : "  such  was  the  divine 
proposition,  but  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  image  only  was  now 
produced.  (See  27  verse.)  Those  who  have  been  accustonicd  to 
view  the  statements  of  the  Word  in  some  general  external  idea 
only,  will  not  instantly  recognise  the  particular  distinction  which 

*  This  plural  pronoun  may  be  interpreted  consistently,  as,  indeed,  it 
ought  to  be,  with  the  idea  of  one  single  divine  person  in  the  god-head,  if 
we  consider  it  to  refer  to  what  must  have  been  the  fact,  namely,  that  a 
plurality  of  tho  Divine  attributes  were  specially  exerted  in  the  produc- 
tions here  treated  of.  See  the  Author's  Work  on  "  The  Deity  of  Jestis 
Christ  asse)-ted,"  pp.  23-27. 


DISCREPANCIES    OF    THE    LETTER.  57 

those  two  terms  are  intended  to  convey,  and  which  indeed  they 
must  express,  unless  we  consider  the  holy  spirit  to  have  selected 
tautological  and  redundant  words  ;  which  idea  need  only  to  be 
named  to  be  rejected.  The  nature  of  the  distinction  is  the  same 
as  that  which  exists  between  things  spiritual  and  things  celestial. 
It  is  the  spiritual  man  who  is  the  image  of  God ;  the  celestial 
man  is  His  likeness :  but  that  was  a  development  that  had  yet  to 
be  educed,  and  of  which  we  shall  by  and  by  have  occasion  to 
speak. 

But  after  the  general  declaration,  that  God  made  man  in  his 
own  image,  it  is  more  particularly  said,  "  Male  and  female  created 
he  them."  That  this  cannot,  consistently  with  the  literal  sense, 
be  interpreted  to  mean  the  creation  of  the  physical  sexes,  seems 
evident ;  for  when  we  carefully  consult  that  sense,  it  appears, 
according  to  the  second  of  Genesis,  that  she  was  not  created  on  the 
sixth  day  at  all;  —  that  she  did  not  come  into. being,  until  after 
Adam  was  placed  in  the  garden,  and  thus,  not  until  after  tlie 
seventh  day !  The  criticism,  which  would  have  the  description  of 
woman's  creation,  as  mentioned  in  the  second  chapter,  to  be  re- 
garded as  only  the  detail  of  what  is  generally  noticed  in  the  first, 
does  not  remove  these  hteral  discrepancies.  Moreover,  such  a 
view  of  the  subject  is  founded  in  the  erroneous  idea  of  these  two 
records  being  fragmentary  pieces,  relating  to  the  same  circum- 
stance ;  whereas  both  ought  to  be  regarded,  as  we  shall  endeavor 
to  show,  in  the  progress  of  our  exposition,  as  tlie  revelation  of  a 
series  of  distinct  and  progressive  facts. 

By  male  and  female,  that  were  now  created,  are  meant,  the 
complete  evolution  of  the  two  characteristics  of  the  human  mind, 
namely,  its  intellect  and  its  affection.  These  were  designed  to 
form  one  mind,  and  therefore,  it  is  afterwards  said  of  them,  that 
they  should  he  one,  which  indeed,  was  realized,  when  the  celestial 
condition  was  developed.  The  characteristic  of  the  intellect, 
from  the  force  and  vigor  of  its  nature,  is  contemplated  as  male, 
and  the  affection,  from  the  delicacy,  grace,  and  beauty,  for  which 
it  is  remarkable,  is  spoken  of  as  female:  hence,  they  are  distin- 
guished as  the  sexes.  These  two  faculties  of  the  mind  exist, 
indeed,  in  each  of  them,  but  it  is  plain  that  they  have  been  differ- 
ently distributed,  and  it  is  the  distinctive  order  in  which  they  exist 
in  each,  which  constitutes  their  essential  difference.  The  most 
conspicuous  feature  in  tlie  female  character  is  that  of  wOl  and  its 
affections ;  her  intellect  is  somewhat  interior  and  perceptive.    That 


58  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

which  is  most  evident  in  the  male  is  his  understanding  and  intel- 
lectual energy ;  his  will  is  more  interior  and  suhdued.  It  is  those 
mental  differences  in  the  natural  constitution  of  the  sexes,  which 
fitted  them  to  denote  those  two  faculties  in  the  human  mind,  which 
their  leading  characters  so  much  resemble.  So  that  that,  which 
has  been  popularly  understood  to  describe  the  creation  of  the  sexes 
is,  when  viewed  in  this  light,  found  to  be  significant  of  the  orderly 
development  of  the  human  will  and  understanding,  and  thus,  of 
the  due  preparation  of  those  faculties  for  the  reception  of  the 
divine  love  and  wisdom,  and  by  Avhich  reception  they  were  after- 
wards to  be  merged  into  "  one  flesh,"  —  one  flesh,  denoting  their 
intimacy  and  union  in  the  pursuit  of  all  that  is  good  and  lovely. 

These  faculties  being  developed,  it  is  now  said  that  God  blessed 
them ;  the  blessing  consisting,  not  in  the  utterance  of  a  sentiment, 
but  in  the  ability  to  enjoy  those  excellences  which  had  been  com- 
municated. They  were,  also,  commanded  to  "Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it."  Fruitfulness  is 
applied  to  the  affections,  and  their  prolifications  in  all  manner  of 
good  works  of  love  and  use :  But  multiplication  has  reference  to 
the  increase  of  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  wisdom :  hence  the 
apostle,  treating  of  the  effects  of  the  Divine  Word  upon  the  soul, 
says  of  the  Lord,  as  the  implanter  of  that  "  seed,"  that  he  will 
*^  multiply  your  seed  sown,  and  increase  the  fruits  of  your  right- 
eousness. (2  Cor.  ix.  10.)  By  replenishing  the  earth,  is  denoted 
the  infilling  of  the  external  man  with  all  the  holy  principles  of 
intelligence  and  virtue ;  and  to  subdue  the  earth,  means  to  bring 
the  external  man  into  the  order  and  submissiveness  which  an  en- 
lightened and  spiritual  love  requires  :  and  hence  was  to  result  his 
"  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air, 
and  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth : "  that  is, 
in  his  spiritual  character,  as  an  image  of  God,  he  was  to  be  capa- 
ble of  bringing  into  subjection  all  the  inferior  things  of  science 
and  intellect,  represented  by  the  "  fish  "  and  the  "  fowl,"  together 
with  all  the  lower  affections  and  appetites  belonging  to  his  external 
man,  and  denoted  by  "  every  living'  thing  that  moveth  upon  tlie 
earth."  These  were  to  be  the  prerogMives  of  the  man  whose  pro- 
gressive development  and  elevation  we  have  been  tracing :  they 
were  to  consist  in  the  moral  and  mental  government  which  the 
higher  principles  of  his  superior  nature  were  to  exercise  over  his 
inferior  part. 

And  every  herb  and  fruit  are  said  to  have  been  given  to  him, 


VALUE    OF    THE    SPIRITUAL    SENSE.  59 

and  every  beast  for  meat ;  because  the  state  secured  would  require 
to  be  sustained.  By  the  man,  is  now  properly  meant  that  internal 
humanity  which  had  been  developed,  'and,  by  the  beasts,  all  the 
orderly  affections  thereto  belonging.  Both  of  these  require  to  be 
sustained  with  appropriate  food,  and  this  is  described  to  have  con- 
sisted in  herbs  and  fruits,  because  they  signify  the  truths  and 
goods  by  which  it  is  effected ;  the  truths,  or  herbs,  being  for  the 
beasts,  or  spiritual  affections,  and  the  good,  or  fruits,  being  for  the 
man,  as  to  his  internal  human  delights. 

Man  being  made,  and  these  instructions  given,  it  is  then  said 
that  "  God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  it  was 
very  good ; "  a  statement  beautifully  expressing  the  Divine  appro- 
bation of  that  high  spiritual  state  which  had  been  evolved,  and 
which  was  emphatically  the  work  of  God,  as  is  the  case  with  all 
good  things.  Still  this  state  Avas  not  one  of  perpetual  brilliance  ; 
it,  like  all  the  days  which  had  preceded,  had  its  shade  as  well  as 
light,  and  therefore  it  is  said,  "  And  the  evening  and  the  morning 
were  the  sixth  day."  The  work  of  human  development,  thus  far 
advanced,  was  not  ended  till  the  seventh ;  but  that  is  a  subject 
which  belongs  to  the  succeeding  chapter,  and  to  which  we  shall 
presently  refer. 

Thus,  the  six  successive  days  of  creation,  with  all  the  circum- 
stances mentioned  to  have  transpired  upon  each,  are  representative 
of  the  six  progressive  states  of  human  development,  together  with 
all  the  phenomena  that  were  proper  to  the  process :  and  conse- 
quently, the  narrative  is  descriptive  of  the  degrees,  through  which 
man  passed  out  of  the  merest  rudiments  of  humanity,  into  the 
attainment  of  the  Divine  image. 

Such  are  the  subjects  which  we  conceive  to  be  treated  of  in  the 
internal  sense,  which  is  the  only  sense,  of  this  first  portion  of  the 
book  of  Genesis.  Viewed  as  a  narrative  of  physical  occurrences, 
it  is  inconsistent  with  the  facts  and  discoveries  of  science,  and 
altogether  unintelligible  to  the  fair  and  free  inquiries  of  reason. 
This  is  proven  by  the  whole  history  of  those  interpretations,  which 
have  taken  that  notion  for  their  basis.  But,  regarded  as  a  de- 
scription of  the  mental  and;  spiritual  elevation  of  humanity,  de- 
livered in  the  form  of  figurative  history,  it  is  found  to  be  in  har- 
mony with  the  best  Christian  experience,  to  agree  with  the  soundest 
requirements  of  reason,  and  to  be  in  beautiful  consistency  with  all  - 
the  disclosures  of  true  philosophy  concerning  man's  origin  and 
nature. 


60  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   SEVENTH  DAY,   A   CELESTIAL   STATE  OF  MAN.  —  Gen.  U.  1. 

"  There  is  one  law  of  criticism,  the  most  important  to  the  thorough 
understanding  of  any  work.  It  is  that,  by  which  we  should  be  led,  by 
continued  habits  of  mind  and  action,  to  approximate  to  that  intellectual 
and  moral  condition  in  which  the  work  originated.  —  The  Bible  has 
mind  for  its  subject,  that  condition  of  mind,  which  is  heaven,  for 
its  object,  and  the  Father  of  mind  for  its  Author."  —  Groxcth  of  the  Mind, 
by  Samson  Reed. 

A  KjfowLEDGE  of  tMngs  pertaining  to  the  natural  •world,  is  to  be 
procured  by  the  natural  powers  of  men.  Supernatural  communi- 
cations are  not  required  to  inform  us  of  points  in  science,  philoso- 
phy, or  history.  Narratives,  literally  expressing  such  things,  may 
be  employed  as  the  vehicle  for  higher  information,  and  thence 
derive  a  sanctity ;  the  parties  writing  them  may,  also,  have  been 
sensibly  directed  in  the  selection  of  such  external  vehicles,  never- 
theless, they  do  nqt  properly  come  within  the  idea  of  having 
required  supernatural  discovery. 

A  revelation  is  necessary  to  bring  us  acquainted  with  spiritual 
things,  because  they  are  beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  efforts 
of  the  human  mind,  nor  can  such  things  be  expressed,  in  natural 
language,  in  any  other  way  than  as  types  and  figures  ;  and  there- 
fore, what  has  been  said  concerning  the  "  creation,"  is  but  a  brief 
example  of  tliat  representative  and  significant  writing,  which  pre- 
vails through  every  document  that  delivers  art  actual  revelation. 
It  is  the  spiritual  truths  contained  within  the  letter  of  the  Word, 
which  properly  constitutes  a  revelation  from  God,  and  the  Scrip- 
tures are  said  to  be  inspired,  in  consequence  of  the  presence  of 
such  truths.  Thus,  the  Word  itself  is  an  inspired  writing,  apart 
from  the  abnormal  or  inspired  condition  of  the  individual,  by 
whose  instrumentality  it  was  produced.  The  letter  is  only  the 
natural  and  symbolical  continent,  employed  for  the  delivery  of 
spiritual  truth  to  man. 

We  do  not  suppose,  that  in  the  preceding  exposition,  we  have 
anticipated  every  objection,  that  may  be  raised  against  the  literal 
sense ;  or,  that  we  have  so  stated  its  spiritual  meaning,  as  to  re- 
move every  difficulty,  which  may  lay  in  tlie  way  of  its  immediate 
adoption :  to  effect  these  results,  a  more  enlarged  and  particular 
treatment  of  the  subject  would  be  required,  than  we  proposed  to 
undertake.    What  has  been  set  forth  are  only  a  few  of  the  gen- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  REGENERATION.  61 

Oral  points  contained  in  the  chapter,  leaving  a  very  large  amount 
of  its  particular  arcana  altogether  unrcferred  to.  The  object  has 
been  to  place  the  subject  in  such  a  light,  as  to  enable  the  ordinary 
thinker  to  see,  at  least,  some  general  resemblance,  between  the 
literal  description,  and  the  spiritual  process,  through  which  a  suc- 
cessive development  of  human  principles,  finally  resulted  in  man 
becoming  an  image  of  the  Divine. 

This  process  we  have  spoken  of  as  a  development.  It  might 
have  been  called  regeneration^  and  we  should  have  adopted  tliat 
term,  if  we  had  not  contemplated  some  probable  confusion  by  its 
use.  Regeneration,  indeed,  considered  in  an  enlarged  and  proper 
sense,  is  a  development  of  all  the  human  excellences  ;  but  then  it 
is  commonly  used  to  express  man's  attainment  of  those  graces 
after  he  had  fallen,  and  tlierefore,  in  treating  of  that  portion  of  the 
Scriptures,  wliich  speaks  of  him  before  that  calamity  had  taken 
place,  it  was  felt  that  the  expression,  development,  would  exclude 
tliat  idea,  and  so  enable  us  to  employ  the  word  regeneration,  in  its 
more  general  acceptation,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  events 
by  which  that  calamity  was  succeeded. 

Hitherto  we  have  considered  the  process,  by  which  man  was 
successively  raised,  as  it  were,  out  of  a  state  of  nothingness,  as  to 
spiritual  life,  into  its  full  possession  and  enjoyment.  The  spirit- 
ual life  of  man  is  that,  in  wliich  all  his  affections  and  thoughts 
are  regulated  and  determined  into  act,  by  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  laAvs  and  rules  of  religious  duty.  In  other  words,  man 
becomes  spiritual,  when  he  becomes  good,  by  means  of  truth 
teaching  him  what  good  is.  In  this  case,  he  becomes  a  practical 
reflector  of  the  Divine  wisdom,  and  thence  he  is  called  the  image 
of  God.     This  was  his  condition  upon  the  sixth  day. 

But  a  seventh  day  is  next  treated  of,  in  which  a  higher  state  is 
contemplated.  This  was  a  condition  of  celestial  life,  in  which 
there  is  rest  and  peace,  in  consequence  of  the  Lord  having  become 
the  primary  object  of  human  love.  He  who  loves  the  Lord  above 
all  things,  and  from  that  love  perceives  and  does  what  is  good  and 
true,  in  all  the  descending  varieties  of  duty,  is  a  celestial  max. 
It  is  a  development  of  the  highest  condition  of  humanity  on  earth. 
To  accomplish  tliis,  was  the  great  design  of  all  God's  providential 
works ;  and  the  realization  of  it  is  expressed,  as  being  the  attain- 
ment of  the  seventh  day;  hence  the  Lord  is  stated  to  have  ended 
his  work  and  rested  thereon ;  also,  to  have  blessed  and  sanctified 
it.  That  the  seventh  day  is  expressive  of  this  exalted  state  of 
6 


b'4  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

man,  and  thus  a  realization  of  the  Divine  purpose  on  eartli  respect- 
ing him,  must  be  pretty  evident  to  the  reflecting.  For  God  cannot 
be  said  to  have  "  ended  his  work,"  and  "  rested,"  in  any  ordinary 
sense  of  those  terms.  The  perpetuation  of  nature  is  as  much  a 
Divine  work  as  was  that  of  its  origination ;  and,  therefore,  suppos- 
ing the  narration  to  refer  to  mundane  things,  the  statement  that  he 
ended  his  work  on  the  seventh  day,  does  not  agree  with  the  truth, 
that  he  is  continually  working  for  its  preservation.  To  this  it  may 
be  indeed  replied,  that  the  statement  ought  to  be  understood,  only 
as  expressing  the  end  of  the  work,  by  which  nature  was  originated. 
But  if  this  were  granted,  the  difficulty  is  not  removed ;  for  after 
this,  God  is  described  to  have  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon 
Adam,  to  have  taken  a  rib  out  of  his  side  and  built  it  into  a  woman. 
The  expression,  therefore,  will  not  bear  such  a  construction. 
Neither  can  it  be  supposed  that  rest  could  be  required,  unless  we 
venture  to  predicate  fatigue  of  the  Omnipotent,  which  will  be 
scarcely  attempted. 

It  is  easy,  then,  to  see,  that  by  God  ending  his  work,  and  resting 
on  the  seventh  day,  is  a  symbolic  method  of  expressing  the  idea, 
that  the  Divine  purpose  in  human  development  was  so  far  com- 
pleted, and  thus,  that  the  Divine  love  was  satisfied ;  tlie  rest,  not 
being  a  cessation  of  those  active  providences,  by  which  it  had 
been  brought  about,  but  a  holy  satisfaction  with  their  result 

It  is  admitted,  that  the  seventh  day,  in  this  narrative,  cannot 
mean  the  seventh  day,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  expression, 
because  that  which  is  described  as  the  six  preceding  days,  are  not 
days  in  the  ordinary  sense ;  and  therefore,  the  seventh  day,  from 
the  circumstances  of  man,  with  which  it  is  connected,  must  be 
regarded  as  the  emblem  of  some  exalted  state.  Cruden  observes, 
that  this  word  seven,  is  used  in  the  Scriptures  as  a  number  of  per- 
fection, and  that  in  the  sacred  books  and  religion  of  the  Jews,  a 
great  number  of  events  and  mysterious  circumstances  are  set  forth 
by  it.  (Concordance,  Art.  Seven.)  It  may  be  useful  to  cite  an 
instance  or  two,  in  which  it  is  employed,  without  any  reference  to 
its  numeral  import.  Thus  Isaiah,  speaking  of  the  future  glory  of 
the  church,  says,  "  In  that  day,  seven  women  shall  take  hold  of 
one  man;"  (Isaiah  iv.  1 ;)  where,  by  seven  women,  are  denoted  an 
exalted  state  of  the  affections,  knd  by  their  taking  hold  of  one 
man,  is  signified  their  attachment  to,  and  acknowledgment  of  the 
Lord,  as  that  one  Divine  Being,  whom  the  prophet  beheld  as  "  one 
man."    (Daniel  x.  5.     Marginal  reading.)    Again,  it  is  written, 


HOW   THE    SABBATH    IS    HOLY  ?  63 

«  She,  that  hath  borne  seven,  languisheth  ; "  (Jeremiah  xv.  9 ;)  to 
signify  that  the  church,  in  which  sanctified  affection  had  been 
conspicuous,  was  now  declining.  The  Lamb,  which  was  beheld 
in  the  midst  af  the  throne,  is  said  to  have  "  had  seven  horns  and 
seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven  spirits  of  God : "  (Rev.  v.  6 :)  to 
denote  the  perfection  of  power  and  wisdom,  by  which  the  Lord  is 
distinguished :  and  thus  it  is  evident,  that  the  number  seven,  is 
used  to  denote  completeness  and  perfection. 

The  seventh  day  was  afterwards  called  the  sabbath,  which  word 
means  rest,  in  the  original  tongue :  it  also  includes  the  idea  of 
peace.  The  rest  and  peace,  which  God  is  said  to  have  had,  on 
the  sabbath  day,  signify  that  merciful  repose  and  heavenly  tran- 
quillity, which  are  experienced  on  the  part  of  man,  when  he  rests 
in  the  delights  of  superior  wisdom,  and  enjoys  the  peace  of  exalted 
virtue  ;  they  are  plainly  the  Divine  rest  and  peace  within  him,  and 
they  are  predicated  of  God,  to  indicate  that  their  existence  in  man 
is  from  him. 

Almost  every  one  has  some  idea,  more  or  less  distinct,  of  the 
number  seven  denoting  something  that  is  holy.  This  may  have 
originated  in  the  circumstance  of  the  sabbath  being  the  seventh 
day  ;  nevertheless,  it  cannot  be  the  holiness  of  the  day ;  for  what 
distinction,  in  that  respect,  can  exist  among  the  seven  ?  There- 
fore, it  must  be  some  presumed  states  of  holiness  in  man,  specially 
exhibited  on  this  day,  which  is  the  ground  of  this  idea.  Holiness, 
indeed,  belongeth  to  the  Lord  alone,  and  therefore.  He  is  the 
essential  Sabbath ;  (Mark  ii.  28 ;)  consequently,  man,  so  far  as  he 
is  receptive  of  holiness  from  him,  may  also  be  considered  as  a 
sabbath,  by  virtue  of  that  excellence. 

It  is  on  account  of  this  signification  of  the  seventh  or  sabbath 
day,  that  under  the  representative  economy,  it  was  commanded, 
that  no  work  should  be  done  thereon.  They,  who  attain  the  celes- 
tial state,  are  not,  like  the  spiritual  man,  to  be  engaged  in  the 
labor,  which  attends  the  learning  of  spiritual  truths  and  duty  by 
an  external  way ;  because,  possessing  the  love  of  God  above  all 
things,  which  is  the  highest  sentiment  of  humanity,  they  will  at 
once  perceive  what  is  wise  and  good,  from  an  internal  dictate. 
Thus  the  law,  which  is  prohibitory  in  the  letter,  declares  a  blessing 
in  its  spirit :  and  the  prohibition  was  delivered,  in  order  to  provide 
a  means  conducive  to  the  blessing. 

Under  the  same  significant  dispensation,  there  was  a  law,  de- 
claring that  the  transgressor  of  the  sabbath  should  be  put  to  death. 


64  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

(Exodus  XXXV.  2.)  This,  indeed,  appears  a  fierce  and  sanguinary 
enactment,  nor  was  its  letter  ever  designed  for  perpetual  obligation. 
It  was  written  for  the  sake  of  representing,  and  so  revealing,  a 
spiritual  truth,  which  every  one  may  see  to  be  rational  in  its  nature 
and  continually  in  force.  The  sabbath,  in  the  highest  sense,  is 
the  Lord  himself,  because  He  is  himself  that  essential  rest  and 
peace,  which  the  word  expresses :  to  violate  the  sabbath,  in  this 
sense,  is  to  reject  the  Lord,  by  sinning  against  him,  and  thereby 
to  incur  the  penalty  of  spiritual  death. 

Hence,  then,  it  is  evident  that  the  seventh  day,  in  the  subject 
before  us,  is  mentioned  to  express  the  holiness  of  man,  on  his 
attainment  of  the  celestial  state.  And  thus  we  learn,  that  the 
second  chapter  of  Genesis  is  designed  to  treat  of  man,  under  an 
aspect  superior  to  that  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  in  the  first.  It 
was  seen,  that  the  divine  proposition  was  to  create  man  in  his  own 
image  and  likeness,  but  that  it  was  the  image  only  which  was  then 
effected :  the  production  of  the  likeness  was  to  be  a  subsequent 
work,  and  this  is  distinctly  declared  to  have  been  accomplished. 
(Gen.  V.  1.)  It  came  into  existence  with  man's  sabbatical  state. 
He  was  an  "  image,"  in  his  spiritual  degree  of  life,  because  he 
was  good  from  the  teachings  of  wisdom :  but  he  was  a  "  likeness," 
in  his  celestial  degree  of  life,  because  he  was  good  from  the  im- 
pulses of  love. 

The  first  chapter  of  Genesis  treats  of  the  creation  of  the  image, 
or  spiritual  state ;  the  second  chapter  describes  the  creation  of  the 
likeness,  or  celestial  state.  And  this  at  once  accounts  for  the 
circumstance,  of  there  being  two  descriptions  of  the  creation, 
marked  by  somewhat  different  and  distinctive  features.  Each 
treats  of  its  own  subject :  and  therefore,  we  may  observe  even  a 
difference  of  terms  applied  to  both  man  and  God.  The  Supreme 
Being,  in  respect  to  the  spiritual  man,  is  called  by  the  single  name 
God,  but  in  reference  to  the  celestial  man,  he  is  called  Lord  God, 
Also,  man's  external  nature,  in  the  former  case,  is  denominated 
earth,  but  in  the  latter,  it  is  spoken  of  as  the  ground :  *  and  this  is 
the  man  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  the  Lord  God  breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  lives ;  and  he  became  a  living  soul."  f  The 
living  soul,  here  spoken  of,  does   not  specifically  refer  to  that 

*  The  reader  is  desired  to  verify  these  remarkable  facts,  by  referring  to 
the  first  chapter  throughout,  up  to  the  third  verse  of  the  second,  and 
from  thence  to  the  commencement  of  the  fall. 

t  Gen.  ii.  7.    **  Lives,"  plural,  is  the  true  rendering  of  the  original. 


THE    LIVING    SOUL.  65 

internal  part  of  man,  to  which  his  immortality  belongs  :  *  that  had 
been  communicated  before,  and  was  obviously  implied  in  his  pos- 
session of  the  divine  image :  what  is  here  more  properly  meant 
is,  that  external  part  of  him,  which  was  now  to  be  infilled  with 
the  living  principles  of  heavenly  life,  which  are,  the  truths  of  faith 
m  the  understanding  and  the  good  of  love  in  the  will.  These  are 
the  lives,  by  which  his  character  was  now  to  be  distinguished : 
they  were  to  belong  to  him,  and  to  be  among  the  sources  of  his 
dignity  and  blessedness.  They  are  proper  to  a  high  state  of 
genuine  religion;  and  Christianity  contemplates  their  existence, 
for  it  is  written,  "  that  man  does  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by 
every  word,  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  doth 
man  live : "  (Deut.  viii.  3 ;  Matt.  iv.  4 :)  here,  by  living,  is  not 
meant  man's  natural  animus,  but  his  religious  life  —  the  life  of 
love  in  the  will,  denoted  by  the  "bread,"  and  the  life  of  wisdom 
in  the  understanding,  denoted  by  the  "  word,  that  proceedeth  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord."  When  the  soul  lives  from  these  prin- 
ciples, the  seventh  day  is  attained,  and  a  celestial  man  exists.  A 
wise  and  amiable  love  is  the  ground  of  his  faith  and  action.  He 
possesses  a  holy  freedom,  and  the  ends  which  influence  him,  have 
all  a  regard  to  the  Lord,  his  kingdom,  and  eternal  life.  What  the 
Lord  teaches  him,  he  perceives  to  be  true  and  beautiful,  because 
he  has  made  a  near  approximation  to  that  intellectual  eminence, 
which  the  divine  instructor  proposed. 

CHAPTER  V. 

ADAM  A   RELIGIOUS  COMMUNITY.  —  EDEN,  WITH  ITS  GARDEN  AND  EAST- 
ERN SITUATION  —  HOW  TO  BE  KEPT. 

"  What  if  earth 
Be  but  the  shadow  of  heav'n ;  and  things  therein 
Each  to  other  like,  more  than  on  earth  is  thought." 

Milton's  Paradise  Lost.    Book  V.  line  574-6. 

The  points,  in  that  most  ancient  history  in  the  world,  to  the  elu- 
cidation of  which  this  and  the  two  succeeding  chapters  are  to  be 
devoted,  are  thus  described. 

*  It  is  generally  allowed,  that  the  import  of  the  original  words  trans- 
lated "  living  soul,"  is  not  the  immaterial  spirit  of  man,  but  the  organic 
life  of  the  animal  frame ;  for  the  same  words  are  rendered  "  creature 
that  hath  life"  and  "living  creature,"  see  Gen.  i.  20-24.  This  is  the 
opinion  of  Grotius,  Hewlett,  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  and  other  eminent  scholars: 
and  thus,  it  very  satisfactorily  agrees  with  the  spiritual  idea  advanced 
above. 

6* 


66  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

"  And  the  Lord  God  planted  a  garden  eastAvard  in  Eden ;  and 
there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  had  formed.  And  out  of  the  ground 
made  the  Lord  God  to  grow  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight, 
and  good  for  food ;  the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
and  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  And  a  river  went 
out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden  ;  and  from  thence  it  was  parted 
into  four  heads.  The  name  of  the  first  is  Pison ;  that  is  it  which 
encompasseth  the  whole  land  of  HavUah,  where  there  is  gold.  And 
the  gold  of  that  land  is  good :  there  is  bdellium  and  the  onyx  stone. 
And  the  name  of  the  second  river  is  Gihon :  the  same  is  it  which 
encompasseth  the  whole  land  of  Ethiopia.  The  name  of  the  third 
river  is  Hiddekel ;  that  is  it  which  goeth  toward  the  east  of  As- 
syria.    And  the  fourth  river  is  Euphrates."  —  Gen.  ii.  8-14. 

Here,  to  all  appearances,  we  have  described  the  first  natural 
garden,  which  was  the  result  of  the  divine  planting,  together  with 
some  intimation  of  its  geographical  locality  and  adjacent  features. 
But  if  these  statements  be  inquired  into,  with  the  light  and  free- 
dom belonging  to  a  period,  when  it  has  become  allowable  to  exam- 
ine intellectually  the  things  of  faith,  we  shall  have  the  strongest 
evidence  for  believing  them  to  treat  of  the  religious  states  of  living 
men,  and  not  of  the  vegetable  production  of  insensible  earth. 

The  primary  object  of  the  Scriptures  is,  to  make  a  revelation  to 
man ;  to  show  him  the  things  which  pertain  to  his  inner  character ; 
to  disclose  the  philosophy  and  display  the  principles  of  spiritual 
life :  to  point  out  the  nature  of  his  future  existence  ;  and  exhibit 
to  hun  those  causes,  which  conduce  to  weal  or  woe,  in  that  other 
stage  of  being,  for  which  this  is  but  the  preparatory  world :  and 
specially  to  keep  before  his  mind's  eye  and  inner  life,  an  intel- 
lectual faith  in  God,  and  practical  charity  towards  mankind.  These 
are  the  leading  things  of  revelation ;  things  which  can  be  known 
to  us  by  no  other  means  than  a  revelation.  The  sciences  and 
philosophies  of  nature  cannot  teach  them.  No  acquaintance  with 
physical  phenomena,  however  extensive  or  profound,  can  unfold 
to  us  any  information  upon  truly  spiritual  subjects.  When  they 
are  divulged,  natural  philosophy  may  afford  us  materials  for  tlieir 
illustration,  but  it  cannot  discover  them.  The  utmost  skill  in  the 
anatomy  of  the  body,  has  never  enabled  its  professor  either  to 
detect,  or  determine,  any  fact  about  the  soul.  It  is  of  a  different 
substance,  and  belongs  to .  another  world  —  a  world  which  God 
knows,  and  concerning  which  man  could  have  known  nothing,  if 
God  had  not  condescended  to  inform  him.    The  means  which  he 


FIGTTRATIVE   LANGUAGE   NATURAL.  67 

has  employed  to  make  these  communications,  is  the  language  of 
men,  so  constructed  as  to  embody  and  convey  the  mind  of  God. 
Nor  is  this  ail,  but  even  the  genius  of  the  language  which  pre- 
vailed with  men,  during  that  particular  epoch  when  revelation  was 
being  vouchsafed  to  them,  has  been  bended  into  this  merciful  ser- 
vice. Figure  is  the  form,  in  which  the  primitive  genius  of  lan- 
gnage  has  displayed  itself.  This  to  us,  at  first  sight,  may  appear 
somewhat  artificial ;  but  a  little  reflection  must  show  it  to  be  gen- 
uinely natural,  so  much  so,  that  it  requires  a  considerable  amount 
of  art,  to  construct  a  sentence  without  haxdng  recourse  to  it  The 
language  of  a  primitive  people  must  needs  have  been  eminently 
figurative ;  *  and  therefore,  a  revelation  vouchsafed  during  its 
prevalence  would,  obviously,  partake  very  largely  of  such  a  style. 
The  mental  genius  and  modes  of  expression  that  were  extant, 
would  be  made  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  embodying  divine 
ideas.  If  the  antediluvian  narratives  are  the  most  ancient  in  the 
world,  and  really  refer  to  the  aborigines  of  our  race,  and  if  it  be 
true,  that  the  language  of  figure  is  the  natural  and  spontaneous 
utterance  of  human  thought ;  then  it  will  follow,  that  these  docu- 
ments ought  to  be  so  regarded.  It  is  not  consistent  criticism,  to 
judge  of  the  literary  production  of  a  remote  and  highly  poetic 
people,  by  that  matter-of-fact  standard  of  writing,  which  is  required 
in  a  prosaic  and  scientific  age. 

But  supposing  the  occurrences  to  have  been  such  as  they  arc 
described ;  supposing  that  we  saw  no  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
believing  the  whole  narrations  to  be  literally  true  ;  supposing  the 
circumstances  mentioned  squared  with  our  knowledge  of  physics, 
and  that  they  were  in  strict  agreement  with  the  perceptions  or 
demands  of  reason  ;  and  supposing  the  history  to  express  in  the 
letter,  all  the  ideas  that  were  intended :  of  what  spiritual  advan- 
tage would  such  knowledge  be  to  man  ?  Would  it  raise  him  one 
step  upon  the  way  which  leads  to  heaven?  We  grant  that  it 
would  satisfy  our  natural  curiosity,  to  know  something  certain 
about  the  beginning  of  things ;  we  admit  that  our  worldly  infor- 
mation would  be  extended  by  it :  we  concede  that,  for  the  learn- 
ing and  scientific  condition  of  the  world,  it  would  be  useful,  but 

*  Dr.  Hugh  Blair  was  also  of  this  opinion.  His  words  are,  '*  The  style 
of  all  the  most  early  languages,  among  nations  who  are  in  the  first  and 
rude  periods  of  society,  is  found,  without  exception,  to  be  full  of  figures ; 
hyperbolical  and  picturesque  in  a  high  degree."  — 12Ae^onc  and  Belles 
Lettres.    Sec.  6. 


69  AJfTEDlLUVIAN    HISTaRl"* 

of  what  real  service  would  such  earthly  information  be  to  our  spk- 
itual  well-being. 

If  we  knew  that  the  world  was  created  out  of  nothing ;  if  it 
were  certain  that  the  first  man  was  made  from  red  earth  ;  *  if  it 
were  physically  demonstrable,  that  the  first  woman  originated  from 
his  rib  ;  if  it  were  credible,  that  life  and  knowledge  once  grew 
upon  a  tree ;  if  it  were  evident,  that  a  serpent  could  talk :  still, 
the  utmost  that  could  be  said  of  such  facts  is,  that  they  were 
extraordinary  events  peculiar  to  the  natural  world  in  its  beginning : 
yet  this  would  not  raise  man's  thought  above  terrestrial  things,  or 
furnish  him  with  any  information  concerning  his  spirituality,  his 
futurity,  or  duty;f  and  when  it  is  seen  that  all  liiese  things  are  the 
antagonists  of  good  reason,  it  is  evident,  that  they  can  have  no 
relation  to  man's  inner  consciousness,  his  spiritual  condition,  liis- 
religious  development,  or  heavenly  hopes.  If  we  confine  our 
ideas  to  the  letter,  it  is  plain  that  we  limit  them  to  the  tilings  of 
this  world.  *  We  should  endeavor  to  eliminate  the  spiritual  things^ 
which,  as  a  revelation,  they  are  intended  to  communicate.  If  we 
overlook  this  duty,  we  shall  lose  sight  of  its  practical  character. 
The  apostle  says,  "the  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life  ;" 
{2  Cor.  iii.  6 ;)  which  plainly  means,  that  the  literal  sense  confines 
to  this  world,  and  that  it  is  the  spiritual  sense  which  discloses 
spiritual  life,  and  so  points  to  its  condition  in  the  world  which  i>s 
to  come.  Moreover,  the  Lord  has  told  us  that  "  His  words  are 
spirit  and  life,"  (John  vi.  63,)  a  sentiment  applicable  to  the  whole 
Word,  and  not  merely  to  the  context  in  which  it  occurs  ;  and  con- 
sequentlyy  to  the  antediluvian  narrations. 

The  internal  or  spiritual  sense  of  those  ancient  documents  is 
their  only  sense,  —  at  least,  we  have  not  succeeded  in  discovering 
any  other:  that  sense  agrees  with  the  designs  of  revelation,  to 
disclose  ideas  upon  spiritual  subjects,  and  its  truths  are  felt  to  be 
so,  because  they  reach  our  human  consciousness — they  echo  to 
the  voice  of  intuition  and  express  the  sensations  of  experience. 

We  have  stated  that  the  development  —  the  spiritual  creation 

*  Adam  was  so  called,  as  critics  and  commentators  suppose,  from  the 
red  earth  of  which  it  is  imagined  he  was  formed.  —  Robert807i's  Clai\ 
Pent.  p.  16. 

t  *'  Although  the  light  of  nature,  and  the  works  of  creation  and  prov- 
idence, do  so  far  manifest  the  goodness,  wisdom,  and  power  of  God,  as 
to  leave  men  inexcusable ;  yet  they  are  not  sufficient  to  give  that  knowl- 
edge of  God  and  of  his  Will,  which  is  necessary  unto  Salvation."  — 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  Art.  I. 


SPIRITUAL   SENSE    THE    ONLY   SENSE,  OSI 

of  tlie  human  principles  of  religious  life  and  actions,  treated  of 
under  the  figure  of  a  natural  creation,  was  a  reality  possessed  and 
enjoyed  by  the  man  of  the  most  ancient  times.*  The  narrative 
teaches  us  not  only  the  order  by  which,  from  being  "void"  and 
dark,  he  was  filled  with  spiritual  principles  and  gifted  with  Intel 
lectual  light,  but  it  chronicles  a  fact  which  distinguished  him  as 
an  early  inhabitant  of  our  world.  It  is  historically  true,  understood 
in  reference  to  his  internal  state.  He  was  actually  raised  into 
that  spiritual  and  celestial  eminence,  so  forcibly  expressed  by 
being  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God. 

But  in  what  sense  are  we  to  view  this  man  ?  Is  he  to  be  con- 
sidered merely  as  an  individual,  or  to  be  regarded  as  a  community .'' 
We  think  that  the  latter  and  not  the  former  is  the  true  idea  con- 
nected with  this  subject ;  and  we  believe  this  idea  to  be  clearly 
recognized  in  verbal  expressions,  as  well  as  in  more  general  state- 
ments. 

Although  the  history  is  not  to  be  taken  in  its  literal  sense,  yet 
its  language  and  intimations  are  constructed  on  the  idea  of  extant 
society,  and  they  may  fairly  be  referred  to,  as  affording  evidence 
upon  this  question,  which  must  be  received  as  important  by  those 
who  insist  upon  the  literal  sense  only.  There  are  several  circum- 
stances so  mentioned,  as  to  imply  the  existence  of  society  apart 
from  that  of  Adam,  or  his  posterity.  When,  according  to  the 
common  reading  of  these  narratives,  there  were  only  three  inhab- 
itants upon  the  earth,  we  find  that  Cain,  after  the  fratricide  he  had 
committed,  said,  "My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear  — 
and  it  shall  c«me  to  pass,  that  every  one  that  findeth  me  shall  slay 
me.  —  A  mark  also  was  set  upon  him,  lest  any  one  finding  him 
should  kill  him."  (Gen.  iv.  13, 14, 15.)  These  statements  evidently 
imply  the  existence  of  society :  why  should  Cain  fear  every  one 
that  found  him,  if  there  had  been  none  to  find  him  but  his  parents  ? 
and  of  what  use  could  have  been  the  mark  set  upon  him,  if  there 
had  been  none  but  Adam  and  his  wife  to  see  it  and  be  warned  by 
it.f     They  must  have  known  him  without  such  sign.     These  cir- 

*  "When  you  talk  of  a  man,  I  would  not  have  you  tack  flesh  and 
blood  to  the  notion,  no,  nor  those  limbs  neither  which  are  made  of  them ; 
these  are  but  tools  for  the  soul  to  work  with  :  and  no  more  a  part  of  the 
man  than  an  axe  or  a  plane  is  a  piece  of  a  carpenter."  —  Collier. 

t  This  difficulty  has  long  been  acknowledged  ;  but  it  is  usually  met  by 
supposing  that  Adam  might  have  had  other  sons  and  daughters,  before 
this  time,  whose  births  are  not  mentioned,  and  from  whom  such  a  popu- 
lation might  have  descended.  —  See  Dodd,  Bishop  Patrick^  Rev.  J.  Hew- 


70  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY, 

cumstances  show,  not  only  that  society  then  existed,  but  also,  that 
it  was  influenced  by  a  moral  sentiment,  which  could  reject  and 
condemn  a  felon's  crime. 

But  there  is  another  fact  equally  strong,  bearing  upon  this  point. 
When  Cain  went  into  the  land  of  Nod,  he  is  said  to  have  had  a 
wife  and  built  a  city,  which  he  named  after  his  first-born  son, 
Enoch.  (Gen.  iv.  17.)  If  there  had  not  been  society,  where  could 
he  have  obtained  his  wife,  or  procured  the  workmen  necessary  for 
such  erections  ?  Moreover,  of  what  use  could  have  been  such  a. 
city,  if  there  had  been  no  society  to  inhabit  it  ?  From  these  facts, 
adverted  to  before,  (page  29,)  it  is  fairly  to  be  inferred,  that  a  peo- 
ple were  now  in  existence,  for  whom  no  relationship  can  be  traced 
to  Adam,  and  of  whose  origin  we  have  no  history.  The  employ- 
ment of  Abel,  as  a  keeper  of  sheep  is,  also,  favorable  to  the  same 
conclusion :  for  what  else  but  the  existence  of  society  could  have 
originated  such  an  occupation. 

Now,  if  there  were  such  a  people,  and  of  this  we  thinlc  there  can 
be  no  well-founded  doubt,  why  may  not  Adam  indicate  the  exist- 
ence of  a  community,  who  had  been  gradually  separated  from  the 
general  mass,  and  had  induced  upon  them  those  excellences  of 
character,  to  which  we  have  adverted.  That  which  is  apparently 
predicable  of  an  individual,  may  with  equal  propriety,  be  said  of 
a  number  of  persons:  and  therefore,  the  narratives  relating  to 
Adam,  instead  of  being  the  personal  history  of  one  man,  may  be 
the  spiritual  history  of  a  Iiighly  cultivated  people,  with  whom  a 
church  existed ;  and,  because  it  is  the  oldest  of  which  we  have 
any  record,  may  be  called  the  most  ancient  church.  There  is 
surely  nothing  irrational  in  this  inference.  But  is  there  any  more 
direct  proof  of  such  an  idea  ?  We  think  there  is^  and  that  it  is 
aiforded  by  the  very  name.  When  the  Lord  said,  "  Let  us  make 
man;"  the  proposition  could  not  refer  to  the  individual,  but  to  the 

lett,  <SfC.  Dr.  A,  Clark  &xtjypo&ed  that  Adam  at  130  years  ©f  age,  had  130 
children :  he  next  supjjosed  each  of  these  to  have  had  a  child  at  the  age 
of  65,  and  that  they  continued  to  have  one  every  succeeding  year,  which 
would,  in  the  130  years,  amount  to  1219  persons,  whom,  he  supposed,  to 
have  excited  Cain's  apprehension,  and  founded  the  city,  which  he  has 
called  the  Village  of  Enoch.  —  Commentary  on  Gen.  iv.  14.  We  should 
like  to  have  been  favored  with  data  for  these  suppositions  of  this  pious 
and  excellent  man  j  they  should  be  contained  in  the  history,  and  we  ask 
the  reader  carefully  to  examine  it,  and  see  if  he  can  find  them  :  we  have 
made  the  effort  but  have  failed.  Had  we  succeeded,  it  would  not  at  all 
have  affected  the  general  view  we  are  attempting  to  unfold. 


71 

race.  Man  is  put  for  mankind,  and  so  it  is  to  be  taken  as  express- 
ing that  wider  sense:  this  indeed  is  evident,  for  it  is  immediately- 
added  "and  let  them  have  dominion,"  (Gen.  i.  26.)  But  the 
original  word,  translated  man,  is  Adam,  and  this  is  distinctly  as- 
serted to  have  a  collective  signification,  for  it  is  written  that  the 
Lord  "  called  ilveu  name  Adam  in  the  day  when  they  were  created ;" 
{Gen.  V,  2 ;)  male  and  female  are  here,  indeed,  specifically  meant ; 
but  there  are  abundance  of  other  instances  in  the  Scriptures, 
where  the  term  is  employed  in  the  sense  of  mankind,  or  the  human 
race  in  general.  And  that  this  is  its  true  import,  seems  evident 
from  the  circumstance  of  its  never  being  foiind  in  a  plural  form, 
though  it  is  acknowledged,  that  there  is  no  grammatical  difficulty 
in  the  way  of  its  being  declined,  by  the  dual  and  plural  termina- 
tions, and  the  prenominal  suffixes.  (Kitto's  Cyclopsedia,  Art. 
*'  Adam.")  Now  the  term  Adam  occurs  in  the  second  and  third 
chapters  of  Genesis,  no  less  than  nineteen  times,  and  in  every  case 
it  is  put  with  the  definite  article :  as,  then,  it  is  not  the  actual  ap- 
pellation of  an  individual,  but  a  nominal  expressive  of  kind,  it  will 
follow,  that  the  terms,  the  Adam,  or  the  man,  must  describe  the 
people,  —  the  community,  —  the  society,  —  the  church,  or  what- 
ever word  else  may  be  thought  more  fitting  to  express  the  idea  of 
a  human  association,  possessing  the  solid  acquirements  of  a  genu- 
inely spiritual  religion. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  Adam's  individuality  is  asserted  by  the 
apostle  where  he  says,  "  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive."  (1  Cor.  xv.  22.)  This  statement  is  both 
elliptical  and  symbolic.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  by  the  dying 
of  Adam  is  meant  the  sin  which  was  committed.  But  as  this  can 
be  perpetrated  by  a  community,  and  be  spoken  of  under  a  collec- 
tive name,  it  does  not  interpose  any  real  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
the  conclusion  to  which  we  have  arrived.  The  fall  of  the  Adamic 
church  caused  sin,  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  church  is  to 
promote  deliverance.  The  apostle  also  says,  "The  first  man, 
Adam,  was  made  a  living  soul."  (1  Cor.  xv.  45.)  In  this  there 
is  nothing  inconsistent  with  our  view.  "  The  first  man,  Adam,"  is 
a  phrase,  as  applicable  to  the  first  community  dignified  by  religious 
manhood,  as  to  an  individual :  and  "  the  living  soul "  of  which 
he  speaks,  was  the  holy  genius  by  which  they  were  distinguished. 
This  is  plain  from  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  original  pas- 
sage to  which  the  apostle  here  refers. 

The  successive  developments  of  character  described  of  tJie 


72  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY, 

Adam,  were  the  progressive  advancements  of  the  community  so 
denominated.  They  consisted  of  spiritual  and  celestial  excellences, 
which  were  actually  enjoyed,  not  hy  an  individual  merely,  hut  hy 
a  whole  people,  who  lived  in  some  exceedingly  remote  period  of 
tlie  past,  and  who,  from  the  superiority  of  their  character,  consti- 
tuted what  we  prefer  to  call  a  church,  and  consequently,  it  is  the 
most  ancient,  because  it  is  the  earliest  of  which  we  hare  any  re- 
vealed or  authentic  records. 

Understanding,  then,  that  by  Adam  is  meant  a  highly  cultivated 
and  innocent  community,  we  next  come  to  inquire  concerning  the 
"  garden  eastward  in  Eden,"  where  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  put 
them. 

It  is  evident,  if  Adam  were  a  people,  among  whom  a  dispensa- 
tion of  divine  blessings  was  received  and  enjoyed,  that  they  must 
have  occupied  some  position  in  the  world's  geography.  But  it 
does  not  follow  that  God  has  made  the  knowledge  of  that  place  a 
subject  of  revelation.  Nor  is  any  information  concerning  it  de- 
rivable therefrom.  There  have  been  a  great  variety  of  positions 
claimed  for  it ;  these,  however,  are  now  reduced  to  nine  theories,* 
not  one  of  which  answers  to  all  the  conditions  which  tfte  problem 
demands.  Travellers  have  sought  for  it  with  much  industry 
and  diligence,  but  no  locality  has  been  discovered  which  responds 
geographically,  to  the  antediluvian  descriptions.  It  may  be  said 
to  have  had  some  of  its  original  features  so  disturbed  by  the  flood, 
as  to  alter  its  identity.  This  is  plausible,  supposing  the  narrative 
to  have  been  written  with  a  view  to  geographical  definition,  and  the 
flood  to  have  been  really  an  inundation  of  water.  These,  however, 
are  points  which  need  not  detain  us.  We  think  that  there  is  good 
reason  for  believing  it  to  have  been  situated  in  some  part  of  South- 
ern Asia,  but  the  precise  locality  is  not  so  easily  determined.  It 
might  have  been  in  Palestine,  as  some  of  the  best  writers  upon  tliis 
subject  have  been  led  to  believe. 

But  if  we  were  sure  of  the  precise  spot,  what  would  be  its  use, 
beyond  the  circumstance  of  adding  another  fact  to  our  geographi- 
cal knowledge  ?  If  we  were  influenced  in  our  reflections  concern- 
ing it,  by  the  mere  letter  of  the  Word,  it  might  be  turned  to  some 
account.  We  might  say,  in  this  spot,  Adam  was  placed  before  he 
was  a  week  old,  and,  without  the  least  experience,  commanded  to 

*  Rosenmtiller's  Biblical  Geography  of  Central  Asia,  translated  by  the 
Rev.  If.  l^or^pn,  pp.  91-98,  Edinburgh,  183G. 


THE  USE  OF  KNOWING  WHERE  EDEN  WAS.      73 

dress  and  keep  the  garden.  It  was  here,  that  grew  the  tree  of 
life,  and  hard  by  flourished  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil.  It  was  here,  that  the  first  progenitor  of  our  race  lived  but 
one  day  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  felicity,  he  having  sinned  and  was 
expelled  the  next.  This  was  the  place,  where  the  serpent  rea- 
soned and  seduced  the  first  pair,  of  whose  existence  and  malicious 
capabilities  they  were  not  informed.  It  was  here,  that  the  Lord 
God  walked  in  the  cool  of  the  day  and  called  for  Adam.  It  was 
here,  that  the  cherubim  were  placed,  and  the  flaming  sword  which 
turned  every  way.  Such,  we  say,  might  be  the  train  of  our  reflec- 
tions, if  we  knew  the  geographical  Eden,  and  were  influenced  in 
our  meditations  by  nothing  more  than  the  mere  letter  of  a  figura- 
tive narrative. 

But  if  we  were  under  the  persuasion  of  those  popular  theologi- 
cal speculations,  which  have  been  educed  out  of  these  remarkable 
narrations,  we  might  still  further  say :  Here  it  was,  where  Adam, 
our  federal  head,  transgressed  the  law,  and  induced  the  penalty 
of  guilt  upon  unborn  myriads  of  his  race.  This  was  the  scene  of 
that  occurrence,  which  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  Almighty, 
and  caused  Him  to  pronounce  a  curse  upon  the  whole  family  of 
man.  Here,  was  the  locality  of  that  event,  which  led  God  the 
Son  to  take  upon  himself  the  penalty  of  transgressors,  and,  in 
after-times,  to  suffer  as  the  substituted  victim  for  sin.  It  was 
here,  that  tlie  circumstance  transpired,  by  which  God  the  Father 
was  led  to  accept  the  sufferings  of  His  innocent  Son,  in  lieu  of 
the  punishment  of  guilty  man,  and  which  they  are  to  believe  is 
justice,  by  the  persuasions  of  the  Holy-  Ghost.  These,  we  say, 
might  be  the  tenor  of  our  remarks,  if  we  actually  knew  the  Eden 
of  tlie  world,  and  were  influenced  in  our  reflections  concerning  it, 
by  the  mistaken  theology  of  our  day. 

But  the  place  of  the  natural  Eden  is  an  undiscoverable  spot,  and 
therefore,  any  advantages  which  might  accrue  from  the  above  train 
of  thoughts,  must  come,  if  they  come  at  all,  independently  of  such 
information.  To  know  it,  as  a  portion  of  the  geography  of  the 
earth,  would  not  convey  to  us  any  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
heaven.  We  could  there  see  but  little  more  of  the  finger  of  God, 
or  the  footsteps  of  the  Almighty,  than  we  may  behold  in  the  broad 
lands,  the  fertile  fields,  and  cultivated  gardens  of  our  own  country. 
We  need  not  go  to  Asia,  in  search  of  natural  evidences  of  the 
wisdom  and  benevolence  of  our  Creator:  they  are  abundant  in 
Europe,  and  we  may  discover  them  at  our  own  door  if  we  are  so 
7 


74  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

disposed.  It  is  the  state  of  our  souls  which  the  Scriptures  con- 
template :  it  is  that  of  Avhich  they  treat,  and  places  of  our  bodies 
are  sometimes  employed  to  represent  that  condition.  Such  is  the 
case  with  Eden  and  its  garden  on  the  East.  Though  we  do  not 
know  their  "local  habitation,"  we  are  acquainted* with  the  signifi- 
cation of  their  "  names."  And  we  feel  assured  that  the  chief 
object  of  their  being  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  is  to  express 
that  pleasurable  condition  of  love  and  light,  which  was  enjoyed 
by  the  people  of  the  most  ancient  church,  whose  name  was 
Adam. 

It  was  when  man  had  attained  the  seventh  day  —  that  state  of 
holiness  of  which  the  sabbath  was  significant  —  that  "  the  Lord 
God  planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden."  It  is  commonly  sup- 
posed, that  the  Lord  did  no  work  upon  the  seventh  day,  but  this  is 
not  declared :  it  is  said  that  he  ended  his  work  thereon,  which 
plainly  means  that  some  was  done.  The  work  of  the  Lord  con- 
sists of  the  influence  of  his  grace  to  make  man  wise  and  good. 
And  the  state  of  holiness,  represented  by  the  seventh,  or  sabbath 
day,  was  of  a  celestial  quality,  and  thus  somewhat  dififerent  from 
that  which  was  signified  by  the  six  preceding  days.  These  days 
denoted  states  of  spiritual  labor,  in  which  it  was  first  requisite  to 
acknowledge  the  movings  of  the  Divine  care ;  then  procure  the 
light  necessary  to  separate  him  from  darkness ;  next  educe  the 
fruit-bearing  principles  of  morality,  afterwards  admit  the  illumina- 
tion of  love  and  faith,  then  bring  forth  the  living  afiections  of 
religious  intelligence,  and  the  sixth  day  he  became  a  spiritual 
man  —  an  image  of  God.  It  was  now  that  the  "  heavens  and  the 
earth  were  finished,"  that  is,  the  affections  proper  to  the  internal 
and  external  of  the  spiritual  man  were  completed.  Yet  it  was 
not  until  the  seventh  day  that  God  ended  his  work.  That  was  the 
day  which  God  is  said  to  have  sanctified,  because  it  was  significant 
of  the  celestial  man,  who  performs  all  the  duties  of  religion  from  a 
principle  of  love  ;  and  none  are  ever  felt  as  labor. 

The  distinction  of  these  two  states,  and  the  circumstance  of  the 
former  being  treated  of  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  the 
latter  in  the  second,  are  spoken  of  above. 

When  Adam,  the  most  ancient  people,  for  God  called  their  name 
Adam,  reached  to  a  celestial  state ;  —  when  they  became  princi- 
pled in  love  to  God,  as  the  ruling  delight  of  all  their  affections 
and  thoughts,  they  were  obviously  in  the  possession  of  a  felicity, 
arising  from  the  tranquillity  of  purity  and  peace.    This  state  is 


EDEN  love;  garden  intelligence,      75 

one  of  surpassing  beauty.  It  is  not  merely  that  cessation  from 
labor,  Avhich  occasionally  attends  the  process  of  intellectual  devel- 
opment, and  which  labor  may  afterwards  have  to  be  resumed ;  but 
it  is  a  rest  arising  from  having  attained  the  summit  of  human  ex- 
cellence below,  and  which  nothing  can  produce  but  the  interior 
life  of  loveliness  and  wisdom. 

Now  it  is  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  this  superior  state  of 
heavenly  love  which  is  denoted  by  Eden.*  Hence  the  word,  as  a 
Hebrew  expression,  denotes  what  is  pleasant  and  delightful ;  it 
also  signifies  tenderness,  loveliness,  and  beauty.  A  pure  and 
elevated  love  is  always  productive  of  high  and  sanctified  delights, 
and  it  is  God  alone,  who  can  place  man  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
them.  When  man  loves  God  above  all  things,  and  lives  in  charity 
v/ith  all  men,  from  the  influence  of  His  love,  he  dAvells  in  Eden, 
for  it  IS  then  that  he  dwells  amidst  delights  and  pleasantness, 
loveliness  and  beauty.  This  we  understand  to  have  been  the 
Eden  of  which  the  Scriptures  speak,  and  into  which  the  men  of 
the  more  ancient  church  were  introduced.  This  is  the  Eden 
which  we  believe  the  Lord  is  desirous  wc  should  again  know,  and 
to  the  discovery  of  which  he  is  wishful  to  direct  our  solicitude  and 
attention. 

But  there  was  a  garden  in  this  Eden.  They  are  two  different 
things.  Love  is  not  a  solitary  principle  :  it  is  always  attended  by 
its  corresponding  intelligence,  and  this  is  represented  by  the  garden 
which  is  said  to  have  been  planted  eastward  in  Eden.  We  grant, 
indeed,  that  by  God  planting  a  garden  may  be  meant  his  giving 

*  Dr.  Adam  Clark  observes,  that  "  It  would  astonish  an  ordinary 
reader,  who  should  be  obliged  to  consult  different  commentators  and 
critics  on  the  situation  of  the  terrestrial  Paradise,  to  see  the  vast  variety 
of  opinions  by  which  they  are  divided.  Some  place  it  in  the  third  heaven, 
others  in  the  fourth ;  some  within  the  orbit  of  the  moon,  others  in  the 
moon  itself ;  some  in  the  middle  region  of  the  air,  or  beyond  the  earth's 
attraction  :  some  on  the  earth,  others  under  the  earth,  and  others  within 
the  earth ;  some  have  found  it  at  the  north  pole,  others  at  the  south, 
some  in  Tartary,  some  in  China,  some  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon  ;  some  in 
America,  others  in  Africa,  under  the  Equator ;  some  in  Mesopotamia, 
others  in  Syria,  Persia,  Arabia,  Babylon,  Assyria,  and  in  Palestine  ;  some 
have  condescended  to  place  it  in  Europe,  and  others  have  contended  that 
it  either  exists  not,  or  is  merely  of  a  spiritual  nature,  and  that  the  whole 
account  is  to  be  spiritually  understood." —  Com.  Gen.  ii.  10. 

The  Dr.  certainly  believed  that  there  was  such  a  place,  but  he  was  not 
very  certain  about  its  locality.  Does  not  all  this  show  the  necessity  of 
seeking  for  it,  only  in  the  state  of  a  wise  and  happy  people  ? 


76  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

fertility,  and  causing  growth,  in  some  particular  situation :  and  we 
admit  that  it  is  highly  probable  a  superior  people  would  be  placed 
in  some  position  favorable  to  vegetable  luxuriance  and  beauty, 
because  we  think  it  is  a  law  of  mind,  to  express  itself,  not  only  in 
significant  words,  but  to  indicate  itself  by  representative  circum- 
stances :  nevertheless,  we  conceive  that  the  true  object  of  a  garden 
being  here  mentioned,  was  to  denote  the  existence  of  a  cultivated 
intelligence,  and  that  it  is  said  to  have  been  in  Eden,  to  signify 
that  the  ground  of  intelligence  was  in  a  purified  love. 

Surely  every  one  may  see,  that  a  beautiful  garden  is  the  appro- 
priate symbol  of  an  elegant  mind :  *  what  else  but  such  a  mind 
can  in  reality  be  the  garden  of  God  ?  Is  not  such  a  mind  of  his 
planting  ?  is  not  the  fruit  of  such  a  mind  of  his  growth  ?  and  is 
not  the  felicity  arising  from  the  possession  of  such  a  mind  among 
his  good  and  precious  gifts.  We  instantly  perceive  the  truth  of 
this :  it  comes  to  us  at  once :  the  reason  is,  because,  when  the 
mind  is  enlightened  by  the  suggestion,  it  passes,  as  it  were  sud- 
denly and  spontaneously,  from  the  physical  to  the  mental  idea. 

This  general  resemblance  may  be  confirmed  by  more  particular 
analogies.  Thus,  as  the  good  and  beautiful  things  of  a  garden 
spring  up  to  their  perfection,  only  as  they  are  set  and  taken  care 
of  by  human  industry  and  skill :  so  the  true  and  useful  things  of 
the  mind  come  forth  in  their  completeness,  only  as  they  are  planted 
and  preserved  by  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God.  In  a  garden, 
there  is  nothing  cultivated  but  what  is  useful  and  delightful  for 
the  rational  man ;  so  in  the  minds  of  the  intelligent,  nothing  is 
permitted  to  grow  but  what  is  requisite  and  necessary  to  promote 
some  Christian  grace. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  most  certainly  viewed  the  mind  under 
this  aspect,  when  he  taught  his  beautiful  parable  of  the  sower. 
The  "  seed,"  said  he,  "  is  the  Word  of  God,"  and  "  he  that  re- 
ceiveth  the  seed  into  good  ground,  is  he  that  heareth  tlie  Word, 
and  understandeth  it ;  which  also  beareth  fruit,  and  bringeth  foilh, 
some  a  hundred  fold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty."  (Matt.  xiii.  23.) 
Every  one  must  see  that  this  description  of  the  mind,  as  arising 

*  Origen  asks,  "  Who  is  so  weak  as  to  think  that  God  planted  a  garden, 
like  a  husbandman,  and  in  it  a  real  tree  of  life,  to  be  tasted  by  corporeal 
teeth  (tongue  ;)  or  that  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  was  to  be  acquired 
by  eating  the  fruit  of  another  tree  ?  And  as  to  God's  walking  in  the 
garden,  and  Adam's  hiding  himself  from  him  among  the  trees,  no 
man  can  doubt  that  these  things  are  to  be  taken  figuratively  and  not 
Uterally." 


GARDEN    OF    EDEN    tLLtJSTEATED.  77 

from  the  reception  and  understanding  of  the  Word,  is  founded  in 
its  resemblance  to  a  garden.  Moreover,  the  Scriptures,  on  several 
occasions,  compare  the  church  to  a  garden.  Thus,  of  the  righteous 
it  is  written,  that  his  soul  should  be  as  a  watered  garden ;  (Isaiah 
Iviii.  11 ;)  and  of  the  captived  Israelites  it  was  predicted,  that  they 
should  "  plant  gardens,  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them,"  (Jer.  xxix.  5  ;) 
which  plainly  means,  that  the  church  in  bondage,  which  they  then 
represented,  would  ultimately  become  intelligent  and  enjoy  its 
advantages. 

It  is  because  the  garden  of  Eden  signifies  the  intelligence  of 
love,  as  possessed  by  the  church  of  those  ancient  times,  that  it  is 
written,  "  The  Lord  will  comfort  Zion,  and  he  will  make  her  wil- 
derness like  Eden,  and  her  desert  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord." 
(Isaiah  li.  3.)  Here,  by  Zion,  is  meant  the  church  ;  the  wilderness 
and  desert  denote  its  deficiencies  in  truth  and  faith,  but  which 
nevertheless,  will  become  like  Eden,  when  it  is  influenced  by  love ; 
and  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  when  distinguished  by  intelli- 
gence. They  are  said  to  be  like  the  others,  because  they  will,  in 
some  measure,  be  the  reproduction  of  their  excellence.  But  the 
prophet  distinctly  refers  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  the  church, 
to  the  circumstance  of  having  been  in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God. 
His  words  are,  "  With  thy  wisdom  and  thine  understanding  thou 
hast  gotten  thee  riches  ;  —  thou  hast  been  in  Eden,  the  garden  of 
God."  (Ezekiel  xxviii.  4  - 13.)  Upon  this  point,  then,  we  need 
not  further  dwell :  we  plainly  see  that  it  is  employed  as  a  beauti- 
ful symbol  of  that  fruit-bearing  intelligence,  which  is  the  proper 
inheritance  of  the  celestial  man. 

But  this  garden  is  said  to  have  been  eastward  of  Eden,  to  denote 
that  the  intelligence  of  the  Adamic  Church,  derived  its  illumination 
and  warmth  wholly  from  the  Lord.  For,  as  the  sun  of  nature  is 
always  ascending  in  the  east,  as  the  earth  is  perpetually  rotating 
upon  its  axis  towards  him ;  so  the  Lord,  as  the  sun  of  righteous- 
ness, is  ref)resented  by  the  east,  eternally  rising  upon  human 
minds,  as  men  turn  themselves  to  him,  to  receive  the  warmth  of 
His  love  and  the  light  of  His  wisdom.  That  the  eastern  sky,  at 
the  time  of  sun-rising,  is,  from  its  splendor  and  magnificence,  a 
beautiful  representation  of  the  Deity  in  his  majesty  and  glory, 
may  be  easily  perceived.  The  Scriptures  frequently  mention  this 
region  in  this  sense.  A  strong  example  is  given  by  the  Prophet, 
where  he  says,  "  Behold,  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  came 
from  the  way  of  the  east."  (Ezekiel  xliii.  2.)  The  earliest  tradi- 
7* 


78  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

tions  of  all  knowledge,  whether  human  or  divine,  are  associated 
with  some  ideas  of  the  east :  and  wise  men  are  said  to  have  come 
therefrom,*  to  indicate  that  all  genuine  wisdom  in  man  is  com- 
municated to  him  from  the  Lord.  We  also  read,  on  several  occa- 
sions, of  the  children  of  the  east,  because  they  represented  all 
those  who  are  possessed  with  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good 
from  the  Lord.  (Judges  vi.  3  ;  viii.  10 :  1  Kings  i.  4  -  30.)  This 
idea  is  the  source  of  that  holy  custom,  which  once  prevailed,  of 
turning  to  the  east  in  times  of  prayer.  It  is,  also,  the  origin  of  a 
similar  observance  in  certain  christian  churches  at  this  day,  on  the 
repetition  of  their  creeds ;  a  circumstance  which  shows  that  a  cus- 
tom may  exist  long  after  the  reason  for  its  adoption  has  ceased  to 
be  attended  to. 

From  these  facts  and  considerations  it  is  evident,  that  the  de- 
scription of  Adam's  being  placed  in  the  garden  eastward  in  Eden, 
was  intended  to  signify  the  state  of  his  intelligence  and  love, 
together  with  his  continued  acknowledgment,  that  those  blessings 
came  to  him  from  the  divine  munificence  and  care.  And  this 
garden  is  said  to  have  been  planted  by  the  Lord,  to  teach  us  that 
the  insemination  of  every  spiritual  seed,  and  the  gro^vth  of  all 
celestial  virtue,  are  derived  from  Him :  they  are,  as  the  prophet 
says,  branches  of  his  planting  and  the  works  of  his  hands,  that  he 

*  Matt.  ii.  1.  It  deserves,  also,  to  be  remarked,  that  those  wise  men 
are  said  to  have  seen  his  star- in  the  east,  (verse  2.)  This  is  commonly 
understood  to  mean,  that  they  beheld  the  star  in  the  eastern  quarter  of 
the  sky.  But  this  cannot  be  the  true  idea.  (See  CamphelVs  Four  Gospels, 
tramlatedfrom  the  Greek.)  The  star  which  they  saw  must  have  been 
really  in  the  west,  for  they  were  guided  by  it  out  of  the  cast  country 
westward,  towards  Jerusalem.  The  meaning,  therefore,  is,  that  the  wise 
men  were  in  the  east  at  the  time  they  beheld  the  star.  This  agrees  with 
the  first  verse  ;  and,  it  is  necessary  to  express  the  spiritual  sense,  which 
is,  that  a  state  of  illumination  from  the  Lord  is  necessary  to  direct  us 
where  to  find  Him. 

We  may  also  observe,  that  commentators  have  felt  great  difficulty  in 
discovering  what  is  meant  by  the  word  east,  as  used  in  several  parts  of 
Scripture.  Calmet  confesses  it,  on  the  ground,  that  He  was  compelled 
to  admit  that  it  seemed  to  mean  places  North  of  India.  (^For  a  sum- 
mary  statement,  see  Cruden,  Art.  East.  (Others  have  seen  that  it  is  some- 
times used  without  any  regard  to  the  eastern  quarter  of  the  heavens. 
(See  Rev.  J.  F.  Denham,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  Kiito's  Bibl.  Cydopadia,  Art. 
East.)  Of  this,  there  can  be  no  well  founded  doubt;  the  reason  is, 
because  it  refers  to  the  Lord,  and  the  internal  sense  of  the  context 
squired  that  it  should  be  so  employed. 


THE  TREES  OF  THE  GARDEN,  ETC.  79 

maybe  glorified.  (Isaiah  Ix.  21.)  Such  was  the  garden  into 
which  Adam  —  the  most  ancient  church  —  was  happily  introduced, 
and  which  he  was  mercifully  required  to  "  dress  and  to  keep : "  — 
to  enjoy,  but  to  acknowledge  that  it  was  the  Lord's,  since  it  was 
only  by  such  acknowledgment  that  the  blessing  could  be  kept 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   TREES    OP   THE   OARDEK :    SPECIFICALLY   THE    TREE   OP   LIPE,    A.ND 
THE  TREE  OF  KNOWLEDGE  OP   GOOD  AND  EVIL. 

**  Know  that  in  the  trees,  fountains,  and  other  things,  of  the  garden  of 
Eden,  were  the  figures  of  the  most  curious  things  by  which  the  first 
Adam  saw  and  understood  spiritual  things."  —  Rabbi  Simon  Bar 
Abraham,  as  cited  from  Hutchenson's  Hebrew  Writings,  by  the  Rev.  E. 
Madeley  in  his  "  Science  of  Correspondences  Elucidated,"  p.  125,  twte. 

The  peculiar  language  applied  to  the  trees  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  and,  specifically,  the  remarkable  names  given  to  two  of 
them,  contribute  some  additional  proof  of  the  facts  attempted  to 
be  established  in  the  preceding  chapter.  We  shall  show,  that 
they  are  intended  to  represent  some  of  those  particular  conditions 
of  that  intelligence  and  love,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  the  general 
inheritance  of  a  superior  people  —  the  most  ancient  church. 

It  is  admitted  that  " much  more  seems  intended"  by  those  trees, 
than  what  appears  upon  the  surface,  and  although,  in  some  quar- 
ters, difficulties  have  been  felt  in  determining  what  that  is,  the 
cause  of  them  is  not  so  much  in  the  thing  itself,  as  in  the  predis- 
position of  certain  minds,  to  discover  some  physical  meaning 
where  it  is  not  intended.  (Dr.  A.  Clark's  Commentary  on  Genesis 
ii.  9.)  The  Jews  interpreted  the  prophecies,  announcing  the  com- 
ing of  the  Messiah,  to  mean  the  raising  up  of  an  earthly  prince,  in 
order  to  confer  glory  upon  the  worldly  kingdom  of  Israel.  They 
made  up  their  minds  with  this  mistaken  idea,  and  thus  produced 
a  difficulty  in  understanding  the  true  meaning  of  those  predictions : 
so  much  so,  that  they  were  actually  fulfilled  in  the  manifestation 
and  mission  of  Jesus  Christ,  without  its  being  acknowledged  by 
that  obstinate  people.  The  confessed  difficulty  in  comprehending 
what  is  meant  by  the  trees  of  the  garden,  though  different  in  kind, 
IS  the  same  in  principle.  Some  physical  notion  has  been  con- 
ceived concerning  them,  whereas  some  mental  condition  is  really 
meant.  "Life"  and  "knowledge"  are  not  vegetable  productions, 
they  are  spiritual  and  intellectual  existences :  and  the  attempt  to 


80  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

find  the  former,  in  a  narrative  constructed  only  to  express  the 
latter,  must  be  as  fruitless  as  the  endeavor  to  find 

"  Fire  in  ice^ 
Or  darkness  in  the  blaze  of  sun-shine." 

There  existed  in  the  garden  four  sorts  of  trees,  Jirst,  those  which 
were  "  pleasant  to  the  sight ; "  second,  those  that  were  "  good  for 
food ; "  third,  "  the  tree  of  life  which  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
garden ; "  and  fourth,  "  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.'* 
(Gen.  ii.  9.) 

They  who  have  viewed  those  statements  in  a  merely  literal 
sense,  suppose  the  trees  "  pleasant  to  the  sight,"  to  have  consisted 
in  all  such  as  are  elegant  in  their  structure,  producing  a  beautiful 
variety  of  flowers,  and  exhibiting  to  the  eye  a  rich  magnificence 
of  color.  It  has  also  been  thought,  that  those  which  were  "  good 
for  food,"  meant  all  such  as  were  productive  of  luxuriant  fruits, 
suitable  for  human  sustenance  and  health. 

There  can  be  no  well-founded  objection  to  a  belief  that  gardens 
did  exist  among  the  Adamic  people,  or  that  trees  of  a  delightful 
and  exuberant  character  grew  within  them.  But  still  it  must  be 
higher  facts  than  these,  which  were  intended  by  the  description.. 
These  only  contemplate  the  pleasure  of  the  senses  and  the  nutri- 
tion of  the  body.  But  revelation  is  grounded  in  deeper  and  inner 
things :  it  regards  the  delights  of  the  mind,  and  the  sustenance 
of  the  soul ;  and  therefore,  the  elegancies  of  nature  are  borrowed 
and  employed  for  their  symbolical  indication.  That  this  must  be 
the  main  object,  for  which  those  trees  are  mentioned,  seems  evi- 
dent from  "  the  tree  of  life,"  and  "  the.  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,"  with  which  they  are  associated.  The  very  names  of 
these  forcibly  express  spiritual  and  intellectual  things. 

We  are  aware,  that  "  the  tree  of  life  "  has  been  thought  to  have 
been  a  tree  possessing  certain  medicinal  virtues,  which  were  to  be 
a  means  for  the  preservation  of  the  body,  and  to  act  as  an  antidote 
against  death.  We  are  likewise  aware  that  "  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge "  has  been  considered  as  a  tree  distinguished  by  some  pe- 
culiar property,  which,  when  taken,  was  capable  of  increasing 
knowledge.  But  these  notions  appear  to  us  rather  as  the  efforts 
of  a  lively  imagination,  than  as  the  result  of  a  solid  judgment. 
The  idea  of  a  medicinal  slu-ub  being  called  the  "  tree  of  life,"  or 
a  stimulating  esculent,  "  the  tree  of  knowledge,"  may  be  plausible 
to  some,  but  we  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  truth  to  any.  The  former 
idea  concerning  the  "  tree  of  life  "  U  founded  upon  the  persuasion, 


OPINIONS    ON    THE    TWO    TREES,  81 

that  man's  natural  body  was  intended  for  immortality.  This  is 
the  notion  which  has  suggested  that  invention ;  if  that  be  taken 
away,  and  surely  science  has  most  effectually  done  so,*  then  it  is 
instantly  left  without  a  resting  place,  and  so  must  perish.  But  the 
supposed  perfection  of  man  necessarily  excludes  the  idea  of  this 
tree  being  a  medicinal  shrub.  The  latter  notion,  relating  to  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  may  have  originated  in  the  circumstance  of 
opium,  and  other  stimulants,  having  been  employed  for  the  purpose 
of  exciting  the  imagination.  I  know  of  no  other  ground  (which 
indeed  is  admitted)  for  such  a  suggestion ;  (Dr.  A.  Clarke's  Com- 
mentary ;)  but  there  is  no  analogy  between  the  actual  occurrence 
and  the  supposed  fact.  A  vegetable  stimulant,  by  which,  it  is 
said,  man  may  be  induced  to  display  his  knowledge,  and  the  pro- 
duction of  a  tree,  which  is  supposed  to  communicate  knowledge, 
are  two  essentially  different  things.  The  one  is  to  induce  partial 
intoxication  on  the  body,  the  other  is  to  secure  intellectual  infor- 
mation to  the  soul.  But,  even  if  any  resemblance  could  be  estab- 
lished between  the  two  ideas,  and  an  argument  founded  thereon 
to  favor  the  supposition,  then  it  would  remain  to  be  shown,  how- 
man  could  have  been  in  a  state  of  perfection,  when  he  must  have 
been  destitute  of  the  knowledge  which  this  tree  was  adapted  to 
communicate  ;  and  also,  how  the  eating  of  it  should  be  a  sin, 
which,  as  we  learn  from  the  sequel,  it  most  distinctly  was.  These 
queries  must  remain  unanswered.  The  obscurities,  arising  from 
a  supposed  natural  sense,  abide  in  all  their  force :  they  do  not 
admit  of  being  removed:  examination  on  such  grounds  cannot 
eject  them ;  and  the  attempt  to  do  so  will  rather  tend  to  increase 
their  number,  than  diminish  their  force.     This,  indeed,  has  long 

*  "  We  find  that  all  organized  matter,  that  is,  every  thing  that  has 
life,  vegetable  and  animal,  is  formed  upon  a  plan  which  renders  death 
necessary,  or  something  equivalent  to  death.  The  first  step  to  life  in  the 
corculum  of  a  vegetable  seed,  or  the  atomic  rudiment  of  the  animal  body, 
in  both  cases  so  minute  and  recondite  as  to  be  inaccessible  to  human 
cognizance,  commences  a  course  of  changes,  which  imply  an  inevitable 
termination.  From  dead  organic  matter  the  living  structure  derives  its 
necessary  supplies.  The  process  of  nutrition,  assimilation,  growth, 
exhaustion,  and  reparation  hold  on  their  irresistible  course,  to  decay  and 
dissolution ;  in  another  word,  to  death.  Some  persons  have  dreamed  of 
sustaining  animal  life  by  exclusively  vegetable  food,  ignorant  that  ia 
every  leaf,  or  root,  or  fruit,  which  they  feed  upon,  they  put  to  death 
mvriads  of  living  creatures."— Z>r.  Pye  Smith.  Scrip.  §  Geo.  Sec.  ed, 
pp.  93,  94. 


82  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

been  felt  by  large  and  pious  minds ;  and  commentators  wIh>  have 
been  wishful  to  explain,  have  been  compelled  to  apologize.  It  is 
therefore  necessary,  to  take  some  other  ground  —  ground  that  may 
be  more  fertile  in  spiritual  thought  and  rational  satisfaction. 

Trees  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Word,  in  a  purely  figura- 
tive sense.  They  constantly  refer  to  man,  or  to  the  things  per- 
taining to  him.  It  is  said  of  the  righteous  man,  .that  "  he  sliall  be 
like  a  tree,  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth  his 
fruit  in  his  season^"  (Psalm  i.  3;)  but  of  the  ungodly,  that  tliey 
are  as  "  trees  whose  fruit  withereth."  (Jude  12.)  Now,  a  man  Is 
either  good  or  bad  by  virtue  of  such  principles,  and  it  was  of  the 
operation  of  these,  and  their  production  in  the  characters  of  men^' 
that  the  Lord  said,  "  Every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ; 
but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  Wherefore  by  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  (Matt.  vii.  17,  20.)  But  the  principles 
of  good  and  evil  are  very  various ;  and  therefore,  we  find  some  of 
them  particularized  by  trees  of  a  specific  character.  Tims,  the 
Lord  said,  "  All  the  trees  of  tlie  field  shall  know  that  I,  the  Lord, 
have  brought  down  the  high  tree,  have  exalted  the  low  tree,  have 
dried  up  the  green  tree,  and  have  made  the  dry  tree  to  flourish." 
(Ezek.  xvii.  24.)  Here,  by  the  "  trees  of  the  field,"  are  denoted 
all  the  living  perceptions  of  genuine  truth;  hence  it  is  said  of 
them,  that  they  should  know  such  things.  To  "  bring  doAvn  the 
high  tree,"  denotes  the  humiliation  of  intellectual  pride ;  to  "  exalt 
the  low  tree,"  signifies  the  elevation  of  unpretending  knowledge  ; 
to  "  dry  up  the  green  tree,"  is  to  bring  desolation  upon  faith  alone ; 
and  "to  make  the  dry  tree  to  flourish,"  is  to  render  tlie.  solid 
knowledge  of  truth  fruitful  in  all  manner  of  good  works  of  love 
and  use.  It  was  because  the  fig-tree  was  merely  green  with 
leaves  and  destitute  of  fruit,  representing  faith  without  charity, 
that  the  Lord  said,  "  Let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee  henceforward  for- 
ever. And  presently  the  fig-tree  withered  awuy."  (Matt.  xxi.  19.) 
And  mere  truth  in  the  mind  is  as  a  dry  tree,  when  it  exists  only 
as  an  intellectuality :  without  the  moisture  and  flexibility  of  love, 
it  is  severe  and  hard,  nevertheless,  it  contains  witliin  itself  tlie 
elemental  properties  of  spiritual  fruitfulness ;  and  thus  the  capa- 
bilities of  realizing  the  declaration  of  the  Psalmist,  that  "the 
trees  of  the  Lord  are  full  of  sap.''''  (Psalm  civ.  16.)  It  is  because 
trees  in  general,  signify  such  mental  things  as  belong  to  the  inte- 
riors of  the  mind,  and  because  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  so 
various,  that  so  manv  species  of  trees  are  mentioned  in  the  Word, 


jOTHAm'^S    PARABLfi.  ^3 

GYCTy  species  signifying  somewhat  different.  Of  this  we  have  a 
striking-  and  beautiful  example  in  the  parable  of  Jotham,  in  which 
the  trees  are  described  as  going  forth  to  anoint  a  king  over  them. 
(Judges  ix.  8-15.) 

The  proximate  historical  sense  of  that  paralile  1-elates  to  the 
circumstances,  in  which  the  people  of  Israel  had  then  placed  them- 
selves. The  trees  in  search  of  a  king,  represented  the  people  in 
their  selection  of  a  ruler.  The  refusal  of  the  olive,  the  fig,  and 
the  vine-trees,  denoted  that  superior  men  had  declined  to  accept 
the  government  of  such  a  stiff-necked  and  rebellious  people ; 
while  its  reception  by  the  bramble,  was  designed  to  express  the 
consent  of  Abimelech,  who  was  a  base-born  and  treacherous  man. 

But  this  could  not  be  all  that  was  intended  to  be  stated  by  a 
parable,  which  owed  its  origin  to  inspiration,  and  was  designed  to 
be  a  revelation.  That  sense  only  connects  it  Avith  the  outer  and 
worldly  history  of  a  bygone  people.  As  such  it  can  only  be  the 
vehicle  for  bringing  down  some  more  interior  truths,  which  may 
apply,  and  be  instructive,  to  all  future  ages  of  the  church. 

Viewed  under  this  aspect,  the  trees  which  were  in  search  of  a 
king  to  anoint  over  them,  represented  the  natural  state  of  man, 
mentally  acknowledging  that  some  principle  ought  to  reign  in  the 
mind  and  rule  the  conduct.  The  application  made  to  the  olive, 
the  fig,  and  the  vine-trees,  denotes  its  confession  of  the  fitness  of 
celestial,  spiritual,  and  doctrinal  truth,  to  perform  this  duty :  but 
their  refusal  of  that  office,  signifies  that  the  natural  state  of  man 
is  such,  that  however  much  he  may  make  a  mental  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  fitness  of  such  principles  to  rule  him,  he  has  as  yet 
no  spiritual  state  really  capable  of  submitting  to  their  mild  and 
valuable  laws.  The  only  government  which  can  be  brought  to 
bear,  effectually,  upon  such  a  condition,  consists  in-  those  appear- 
ances of  truth,  which  the  letter  of  the  Word  exhibits,  and  in 
which  God  is  spoken  of  as  being  fierce  and  angry,  forbidding  and 
unlovely :  and  these  appearances  of  truth  are  the  bramble.  God 
appeared  to  Moses  in  a  burning  bush,  (bramble,)  to  represent  those 
appearances  of  truth  in  the  letter  of  the  Word,  by  which  natural 
men  were  to  be  led  and  governed. 

Thus,  we  see,  that  all  the  trees  referred  to  in  the  parable,  sig- 
nify different  classes  of  mental  perceptions  ;  and  so  it  is  with 
innumerable  other  cases,  which  could  be  readily  cited  from  the 
Word.  But  enough  may  have  been  said  to  prepare  us  for  admit- 
ting, that  the  trees  of  Eden  must  have  been  mentioned,  to  repre- 


84  ANrEDlLt/VIAN   HISTOfir. 

sent  those  varied  and  beautiful  perceptions  of  truth,  which  filled 
with  light  and  loveliness  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  most 
ancient  church.  By  perception  is  here  meant  that  interior  capa- 
bility by  which  the  men  of  those  times  were  enabled  to  aeknowl- 
edgfe,  that  truth  is  truth  and  good  is  good,  as  soon  as  such  things 
were  presented  to  their  thought,  and  so  to  dispense  with  those 
reasoning  processes,  which,  as  it  is  well  known,  the  men  of  after- 
times  have  been  compelled  to  use,  in  order  to  procure  such  Imowl- 
edge.  This  perceptive  state  was  that  referred  to  by  the  Lord,  when 
he  said,  "  Let  your  communications  be,  Yea,  yea ;  nay,  nay ; "  the 
reasoning  state,  is  intimated  in  that  other  declaration,  "  Whatsoever 
is  more  than  these  cometh  of  evil,"  (Matt.  v.  S7.)  Reasoning  is 
the  result  of  an  obscurity  of  thought,  which  is  among  the  evils  of 
the  fall ;  perception  perished  in  that  calamity ;  true  Christianity 
is  adapted  to  restore  the  blessing,  and  re-plant  the  trees  which 
were  its  ancient  subjects. 

The  trees  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  then,  were  the  perceptions 
and  principles  proper  to  the  high  intelligence  of  those  ancient 
people.  The  trees  "  pleasant  to  the  sight,"  denoted  the  internal 
perceptions  of  heavenly  truth ;  because  all  such  truth  is  pleasant 
to  the  intellectual  eye :  and  the  trees  which  were  "  good  for  food," 
signify  the  internal  perceptions  of  heavenly  good:  because  all 
such  good  is  the  food  and  nutrition  of  spiritual  and  celestial  life. 
These  were  among  the  distinguished  inheritances  of  those  supe- 
rior men. 

But  their  most  remarkable  perceptions  are  described  to  us  as 
"  The  tree  of  life  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,*  and  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil."  It  never  would  have  been  said 
that  the  Lord  planted  these  two  trees  in  the  garden,  one  of  which 
was  to  prove,  a  stumbling  block  to  its  inhabitants,  unless  the  cir- 
cumstance had  been  intended  to  sustain  some  spiritual  representa- 
tion, consistent  with  the  true  order  of  divine  providence,  in  respect 

*  At  the  3rd  verse  of  the  3rd  chapter,  the  tree  of  knowledge  is  spoken 
of  as  being  in  the  Tnidst  of  the  garden.  The  reason  for  these  different 
statements  is  this.  So  long  as  Adam  continued  in  his  integrity,  the  tree 
of  life  —  the  perception  of  love,  was  his  inmost  principle;  but  when 
he  declined  therefrom,  as  the  third  chapter  describes  him  to  have  done, 
then  the  tree  of  knowledge  —  the  perception  of  truth,  —  became  his 
inmost  principle.  The  change  which  had  taken  place  in  his  state 
altered  the  position  of  the  trees,  and  so  indicates  the  gradual  manner  in 
which  he  fell. 


TREES   OF   LIFE   AND   KNOWLEDGE.  85 

to  the  interior  things  of  men.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  life,"  * 
which  is  here  referred  to,  must  mean  the  mmost  influences  of  holy 
men  ;  and  the  "  knowledge  "  spoken  of,  must  be  that  very  knowl- 
edge which  had  contributed  to  raise  them  into  that  elevated 
condition. 

Life  is  an  invisible,  intangible  possession,  evidencing  its  exist- 
ence by  the  production  of  consequences  upon  our  organization ;  it 
is  a  growing  and  fruit-bearing  principle  in  man,  in  which  respect 
it  may  be  called  a  tree ;  faint,  indeed,  and  feeble  in  its  begin- 
nings, but  successively  sending  out  more  vigorous  developments 
and  powers. 

So,  the  KNOWLEDGE  of  good  and  evil  is  a  mental  acquisition, 
gradually  putting  forth  its  tender  shoots,  and  stronger  limbs,  attain- 
ing greater  height,  and  showing  more  luxuriance,  both  in  its  utter- 
ances and  its  acts  ;  in  which  respects  it,  also,  is  most  aptly  likened 
to  a  tree. 

Now,  those  inmost  influences,  which  are  here  denominated  the 
tree  of  lives,  consist  in  love,  —  love  to  God,  and  love  to  man,  — 
loves  which  derive  their  essential  quality  from  the  Lord,  and  so 
induce  an  intellectual  faith  concerning  Him. 

Every  one,  who  will  seriously  reflect  upon  this  subject,  must 
conclude,  that  such  loves  are  not  only  the  life  of  a  religious  man's 
will ;  but  also,  the  life  of  his  understanding.  Love  is  the  primary 
life  of  such  a  man ;  without  this,  there  could  be  no  living  faith  ; 
man  could  not  think,  if  he  were  not  first  influenced  by  love  to  do 
so  ;  he  could  not  act,  if  the  love  of  action  were  removed.  What- 
soever a  man  thinks,  believes,  and  does,  proceeds  from  love,  as  its 
living  cause.  He  is  senseless,  thoughtless,  inanimate,  and  dead, 
to  every  thing  he  does  not  love.  As  his  love  grows  cold,  his 
thoughts  wax  torpid  ;  but  if  his  love  inflames,  his  imagination  is 
illuminated,  his  utterances  become  forcible,  and  his  action  ener- 
getic. Whatever  a  man  loves  pre-eminently,  he  thinks  contin- 
ually, and  it  will  more  or  less  display  itself  in  every  act.  The 
reason  for  all  this  is,  because  human  love  is  the  very  life  of  the 
human  character.  The  love  of  God,  by  man,  is  the  first  great  duty 
of  all  religion,  and  it  is  plainly  intended  by  Him  to  be  in  the  midst 
of  every  other  excellence  ;  and  thus  it  is  a  tree  of  life  in  the  midst 
of  the  garden  —  a  tree,  because  of  its  growing  and  fruit-bearing 

*  Chaiyim  —  lives.    The  plural  form  is  used  in  the  original,  because 
the  religious  life  of  the  man,  here  treated  of,  was  displayed  under  a  two- 
fold aspect,  viz.,  the  life  of  his  affections,  and  the  life  of  thought. 
8 


86  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTOKY. 

qualities,  and  a  tree  of  life,  because  it  imparts  animation  to  every 
thought  and  every  duty.* 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  the  love  of  God  is  the  ruling 
life  of  angels  ;  and  if  so,  how  proper  is  it  to  be  spoken  of  as  the 
central  life  of  celestial  men  —  the  life  that  was  in  the  midst  of 
their  intelligence  —  their  intellectual  garden.  That  this  is  a  cor- 
rect view  of  the  subject  is  evident,  not  only  from  its  approving 
itself  satisfactorily  to  our  reason,  but  from  the  circumstance  of  the 
tree  of  life  being  yet  extant,  and  the  fruit  thereof,  conditionally, 
offered  to  the  acceptance  of  universal  man.  In  the  Revelations  it 
is  written,  that  the  Lord  said,  "  To  him  that  overcometh,  will  I 
give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  para- 
dise of  God."  (Rev.  ii.  7.)  To  "  overcome  "  means  the  success- 
ful resistance  of  what  is  evil ;  and  then,  "  to  eat  of  the  tree  of 
life,"  plainly  denotes,  to  be  filled  with  the  good  of  love,  which  is 
said  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God,  to  denote,  that  it  is 
the  inmost  principle  -of  all  heavenly  intelligence  and  truth. 

Seeing,  then,  that  the  tree  of  life  was  significant  of  the  good  of 
love  to  the  Lord,  as  it  existed  in  the  most  ancient  church,  we  are 
the  more  readily  prepared  to  accept  the  idea,  that  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  was  representative  of  all  the  truth  of 
faith  respecting  him.  The  proposition,  that  the  truth  of  faith  is 
the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  at  once  affects  us  as  a 
lucid  fact,  which  reasonings  could  not  brighten,  but  might  obscure. 
The  solid  knowledge  of  the  pre-eminently  religious  man  is,  gen- 
uine truth,  and  this  is  the  foundation  of  his  faith ;  so,  that  while 
his  love  of  God  is  his  "  tree  of  life,"  his  faith  in  God  is  his  "  tree 
of  knowledge."  These  are  the  two  essential  things  of  true  reli- 
gion with  the  human  race,  and  thus  we  learn,  as  it  were  in  the 
compass  of  a  nutshell,  the  bright  and  practical  ideas  intended  to 
be  represented  to  man  by  those  two  trees.  The  reason  why  the 
eating  of  one  of  them  was  prohibited,  we  wiU  show  in  another 
place. 

*  Philo  says,  **  By  the  tree  of  life  is  metaphorically  meant  love  to  God, 
the  greatest  of  virtues,  by  which  the  soul  is  rendered  immortal ;  "  and  by 
•*  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  is  signified  that  prudence  which 
discriminates  between  things  that  are  by  nature  opposite  and  contrary." 
—  De  Mundi  Opifcio. 

Maimonides  calls  the  law,  "  a  tree  of  life."  —  De  Pcenitentia,  ix.  sec.  2. 


THE    RIVER   OF    EDEN,    ETC.  87 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  RIVER  OF  EDEN,    AND   ITS   BEING  PARTED  INTO  FOUR  HEADS. 

"  The  fairest  test  of  a  theory  is  its  a'Rplication  to  the  solution  of  a  Phe- 
nomenon." —  John  Bird  Sumner,  M.A.,  Records  of  Creation.  Second 
Edition,  p.  235. 

If  Eden  and  its  garden  were  not  intended  to  express  geo- 
graphical positions  of  the  earth,  and  if  the  trees  of  the  garden  did 
not  mean  productions  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  but  that  all  these 
things  are  mentioned  to  signify  internal  states  and  principles, 
belonging  to  a  highly  cultivated  condition  of  religious  humanity ; 
then,  it  is  easy  to  infer,  that  by  the  river  and  its  partings,  are  not 
to  be  understood  natural  waters,  but  the  source  and  order,  whence 
the  several  degrees  of  their  intelligence  were  to  be  preserved  in 
growth  and  fruitfulness. 

They,  who  could  compare  a  highly  cultivated  mind  to  a  skilfully 
planted  garden,  and  clearly  perceive  the  general  analogy  existing 
between  them,  could,  also,  easily  describe  the  more  particular  con- 
dition of  such  a  mind,  by  some  other  more  particular  circumstances, 
which  such  a  garden  would  require  for  the  maintenance  of  its  fer- 
tility and  beauty.  When  such  a  people  t9,lked  of  lands  and  rivers, 
in  connection  with  the  spiritualities  of  religion,  it  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  them  a  representative  significance  of  internal  things. 
They  spoke  of  the  geography  of  nature  to  express  the  conditions 
of  intellect.  They  knew  that  the  world  of  nature  was  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  world  of  mind.  Nor  has  this  idea  entirely 
vanished  from  the  church.  How  common  it  is  for  Christians  to 
speak  of  Zion,  Canaan,  and  Jordan,  to  signify  some  internal  and 
religious  things.  In  such  cases  they  do  not  think  of  the  moun- 
tain, land,  or  river,  but  some  spiritual  state,  which  they  are  con- 
ceived to  signify.  They  to  whom  the  magnificence  of  nature  was 
as  a  theatre,  representing  the  gorgeous  things  of  spiritual  and 
heavenly  life  —  they  who  could 

"  Find  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every  thing," 

would  not  only  speak  of  the  general  condition  of  the  mind,  by  some 
general  resemblance  in  the  world,  but  they  would  represent  its 
particular  states,  by  some  particular  features  of  physical  nature. 
To  such  a  people,  a  river,  with  its  streams,  Avould  be  eminently 
suggestive.    In  after-times,  the  beauty  which  they  confer  upon 


OO  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

the  landscape,  the  fertility  which  they  induce  upon  their  banks, 
their  gentle  flow,  and  sky-reflecting  qualities,  have  originated 
poetic  thought  and  writing:  but  the  men  of  the  most  ancient 
times,  saw  in  such  things  something  deeper  than  the  modern  poet ; 
they  beheld  in  such  objects  tliose  interior  and  spiritual  realities, 
which  are  the  soul  and  origin  of  poetry.  With  them,  the  thought 
of  a  natural  river  was  instantly  changed  into  the  idea  of  wisdom, 
and  the  varieties  of  wisdom  they  would  indicate  by  giving  names 
to  its  streams.*  We  need  not  descend  into  secular  history  for 
evidence  of  this  fact ;  it  is  plentifully  recognized  in  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  there  being  numerous  passages  constructed  on  the  cir- 
cumstance of  such  a  relationship  being  perceived.  Those  who 
are  in  the  satisfactions  arising  from  divine  instruction,  are  said 
"  to  drink  of  the  river  of  God's  pleasures."  (Psalm  xxxvi.  8.)  The 
waters,  also,  which  the  prophet  saw  issuing  from  the  house  which 
he  beheld  in  vision,  are  described  to  have  successively  deepened, 
until  they  became  a  river  that  could  not  be  passed,  (Ezekiel  1  -5,) 
to  show  how  the  divine  truths,  which  are  proper  to  the  Lord's 
church,  are  continually  heightening,  until  they  attain  that  eleva- 
tion of  wisdom,  which  no  man  can  pass.  Again,  the  Psalmist 
says,  "  There  is  a  river,  the  streams  whereof  make  glad  the  city 
of  God : "  (Psalm  xlvi.  4  :)  where,  by  a  river,  is  meant  the  divine 
wisdom  of  the  Holy  Word,  and  the  "  streams  whereof,"  the  nu- 
merous truths  which  descend  therefrom ;  and  these  are  said  to 
"  make  glad  the  city  of  God,"  because  they  are  productive  of 
delight  and  happiness  to  the  church.  There  is  a  remarkable 
similarity,  in  general  idea,  between  this  passage  and  that  which 
says,  "  A  river  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden,  and  from 
thence  it  was  parted,  and  became  into  four  heads."  (Gen.  ii.  10.) 
"The  garden"  is  as  "the  city  of  God;"  the  "river"  and 
"  streams,"  as  the  "  wisdom  and  truths  "  which  impart  gladness 
and  refreshing.  It  is  likewise  written,  that  "  the  earth  is  watered 
with  the  river  of  God,"  (Psalm  Ixv.  9 ;)  which  spiritually  means, 
that  the  external  man  is  rendered  fertile,  in  his  works  of  use,  through 
the  inflowings  of  divine  wisdom  from  the  Word.  John  said  that 
he  was  shown  "  A  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 
proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God."     (Rev.  xxii.  1.)    Here,  the 

*  The  fables  concerning  the  river  Styx,  Charon  crossing  the  Stygian 
Lake,  and  the  consecration  of  the  fountains  of  Pindus,  Helicon,  and 
Parnassus  to  the  Muses,  with  many  other  mythological  intimations 
referring  to  rivers,  their  sources,  and  results,  all  took  their  rise  from  this 
perception. 


SPIRITUAL   MEANING    OF    A   RIVER.  89 

*^  pure  river  of  water  of  life,"  plainly  denotes  the  genuine  truths 
of  the  Holy  Word.  It  is  these  which  impart  spiritual  life  to  man : 
Hence  the  Lord  said,  "  The  water,  i.  e.,  the  truth,  tliat  I  shall  give 
him,  (the  man  who  comes  to  him,)  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water 
springing  up  into  everlasting  life."  (John  iv.  14.)  Every  one 
may  perceive  that  it  can  be  nothing  else  but  divine  wisdom  which 
proceeds  as  a  river  from  the  throne  of  God,  and  also,  that  its  pur- 
poses must  be  to  secure  salvation  and  eternal  life  to  all  who  will 
receive  it.  It  is  said  to  be  clear  as  crystal,  to  denote  that  it  is  as 
pure  as  spiritual  illumination  can  perceive  it. 

Now,  it  will  be  observed,  that  the  river  of  Eden  is  without  a 
name :  yet,  as  its  uses  were  to  water  the  garden  and  keep  it  in 
fertility,  it  may  reasonably  be  considered  as  the  river  of  life, 
which  was  the  inflowing  of  wisdom  from  the  Lord,  in  order  to 
maintain,  among  the  most  ancient  people,  their  state  of  religious 
eminence  in  its  integrity  and  greatness.  The  reason  why  this 
river  is  spoken  of  without  a  name  is,  probably,  because  it  repre- 
sented the  divine  wisdom,  as  it  is  in  itself,  and  which,  as  such,  is 
inexpressible  to  finite  thought.  It  is  only  when  this  river  of  wis- 
dom becomes  parted,  by  entering  into  the  human  mind,  and  there 
presenting  itself  to  the  distinct  faculties  by  which  it  is  distinguished, 
that  it  will  admit  of  nominal  description,  because  it  is  only  then 
that  we  obtain  distinct  perceptions  of  it.  Hence,  it  was  only 
when  the  river  entered  the  garden  that  it  was  "  parted,"  it  was 
then  that  it  "  became  into  four  heads,"  which  were  respectively 
called,  Pison,  Gihon,  Hiddekel,  and  Phrat. 

It  must  be  admitted,  that  divine  wisdom,  as  it  is  in  itself,  cannot 
fall  into  finite  apprehension ;  and  every  one  must  see,  that,  in  order 
tx)  its  being  understood  at  all  by  man,  it  must  enter  into  some 
degree  of  his  mind.  These  degrees  are  several ;  and  divine  wis- 
dom is  designed  for  all  these,  and  to  affect  them  all  in  the  way  of 
rendering  them  fertile  in  the  things  of  use.  These  degrees,  in 
general,  are  spoken  of  as  three,  and  they  consist  of  celestial,  spir- 
itual, and  natural ;  but,  there  is  also  the  rational  degree,  which 
exists  between  the  spiritual  and  natural':  this  is  a  medium  princi- 
ple, which  communicates  between  the  scientific  things  which  act 
upon  the  mind  from  without,  and  the  intellectual  perceptions  which 
operate  from  within ;  and  thus,  in  some  measure,  it  belongs  to 
both.  The  celestial,  pertains  to  the  udll  and  its  affections  ;  the 
spiritual,  to  the  understanding  and  its  thoughts ;  the  natural,  to 
sdentifics  and  such  common  knowledges  as  are  observable  from 
8* 


90  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

the  light  of  the  world.  The  rational  belongs  to  each  of  the  latter 
two,  and  its  office,  in  religious  things,  is,  as  it  were,  to  open  a  door 
to  let  in  spiritual  influence  upon  the  natural  mind. 

These,  then,  are  the  degrees  or  principles  of  mind,  which  the 
river  of  divine  wisdom  is  intended  to  affect  with  its  fertilizing 
power.  The  will,  so  as  to  preserve  in  it  the  orderly  affections  of 
love ;  the  understanding,  with  the  view  of  keeping  in  it  the  il- 
luminated intelligence  of  truth;  the  reason,  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  it  pure  and  open  for  the  descent  of  interior  thought  into 
exterior  cognizance ;  and  the  sdentijk,  in  order  to  exalt  its  purposes 
of  use.  This,  also,  is  the  order  in  which  divine  wisdom  descends 
into  celestial  men,  and  so  exercises  its  benign  purpose  upon  their 
whole  character ;  and  these  are  the  things  signified  by  the  river 
after  it  entered  the  garden,  and  then  became  parted  into  four  heads, 
the  streams  from  which  are  called  Pison,  Gihon,  Hiddekel,  and 
Phrat.*  These  names,  as  Hebrew  expressions,  are,  in  their  literal 
sense,  significant  of  ideas  which  bear  very  closely  upon  the  spirit- 
ual meaning  they  were  intended  to  sustain. 

Thus,  by  Pison  is  literally  meant  a  changing  or  extending 
stream ;  but  spiritually,  it  denotes  the  influence  of  divine  wisdom 
upon  the  will  and  its  affections :  through  this  the  will  is  continu- 

*  Fison  and  Gihon  are  utterly  unknown  to  geography,  and  the  best 
scholars,  in  oriental  languages,  now  consider  them  only  as  appellations 
signifying  a  stream  in  general :  in  this  sense  they  may  easily  be  seen  as 
a  beautiful  figure  of  the  inflowing  of  different  graces  into  the  human  mind. 

Hiddekel,  is  commonly  believed  to  be  the  Tigris.  But  about  this  there 
is  no  certainty.  Scientific  geography  cannot  reconcile  the  features  of  that 
river  with  the  scriptural  account  of  Hiddekel.  Etymological  resemblances, 
rather  than  geographical  features,  have  led  to  that  opinion.  It  is  thought 
to  be  the  Tigris,  because  this  river  in  Aramaean  is  called  Digla,  in  Ara- 
bic Diglat,  in  Zend  Teger,  in  Pelvi  Tegera,  whence  it  is  said  have  arisen 
both  the  Aramaean  and  Arabic  form  to  which  is  to  be  traced  the  Hebrew 
DeJcel,  divested  of  its  prefix  Hid,  which  means  rapid,  so  that  Hid-dekel 
signifies  the  rapid  Tigris.  Phrat  is  said  to  be  the  Euphrates,  for  similar 
reasons  among  others,  into  which  we  need  not  enter.  The  scriptural  ac- 
count however  of  Hiddekel  and  Phrat  is,  that  they  were  but  branches  of 
another  river  that  flowed  in  Eden,  and  which  was  divided  in  the  garden. 
The  geographical  facts  concerning  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  are  that 
they  take  their  rise  in  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  fifteen  miles  apart,  and 
so  do  not  answer  to  the  sacred  description.  The  reason  is,  because  the 
scriptural  account  is  not  given  for  geographical  purposes.  It  was  written 
among  a  very  ancient  people,  with  whom,  there  is  much  evidence  to  prove, 
it  was  customary  to  compare  wisdom  to  a  river,  and  to  represent  its  par- 
ticular influences  upon  the  mind  by  streams  with  descriptive  appellations. 


PISON,   HAVILAH   AND   ITS   RICHES.  91 

ally  changing  its  quality  by  an  upward  ascent  in  holy  things,  and 
so  directing  its  affections  in  the  way  of  performing  more  extended 
uses.  Every  one  sees  that  these  must  be  the  results  of  such  an 
influence,  and  also,  that  information  concerning  it,  comes  within 
the  scope  and  purpose  of  revelation  to  disclose.  The  will  is  the 
inmost  of  the  human  faculties,  and  it  was  created  for  the  reception 
and  throne  of  love  or  goodness.  But  love  or  goodness  requires 
illumination  from  a  stream  of  wisdom,  in  order  to  direct  its  im- 
pulse, regulate  its  attachment,  and  disclose  its  duties.  Love  with- 
out wisdom  would  be  a  blind  feeling.  It  is  by  truth  that  good  is 
taught  and  led  into  its  activity.  Good  could  not  be  developed,  if 
truth  did  not  teach  us  what  it  was.  We  learn  what  is  virtuous  by 
the  precepts  which  inform  us ;  but  truth  completes  its  work,  only 
when  it  fixes  the  good  which  it  inculcates,  as  an  enlightened  af- 
fection in  the  will.  This,  then,  is  what  is  meant  by  the  influence 
of  divine  wisdom  upon  the  will  and  its  affections,  of  which  Pison 
is  significant.  Hence  it  is  said  to  have  encompassed  the  whole 
land  of  Havilah,*  where  there  is  gold,  to  inform  us  that  it  includes 
all  the  characteristics  of  the  vnll  that  are  genuinely  good.  Every 
excellence  of  the  human  character  arises  out  of  the  divine  influ- 
ences upon  the  human  will,  when  disposed  to  love,  and  love  is 
spiritual  gold,  more  or  less  pure,  according  to  the  exalted  nature 
of  the  objects  towards  which  it  is  directed ;  in  this  case,  the  gold 
is  said  to  have  been  good,  to  express  that  its  direction  was  tovrards 
the  Lord ;  it,  therefore,  may  be  taken  as  a  precise  definition  of  its 
meaning.  But,  besides  gold,  there  were  also  "  bdellium  and  the 
onyx-stone,"  f  to  represent  the  truth  and  the  faith  that  were  in  cor- 
respondence with  that  love. 

Every  one  must  have  noticed  that  gold  and  precious  stones  are 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  Word,  to  represent  the  spiritual  riches 
of  goodness  and  truth.  There  is  a  perceptible  analogy  between 
such  natural  and  spiritual  things.  Pure  gold  is  among  the  most 
valuable  of  worldly  possessions,  and  so  it  is  a  fit  representative  of 
that  genuine  good,  which  is  the  most  precious  of  all  heavenly  gifts. 

*  There  is  nothing  known  Of  this  land  beyond  conjecture.  The  word 
Havilah  means  to  bring  forth ;  this  is  what  the  divine  wisdom  is  intended 
to  accomplish  :  —  to  bring  forth  whatever  is  good  and  lovely. 

t  Dr.  A.  Clarke  says,  "  That  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  is  the  prefiise 
meaning  of  the  original  words  ;  and  at  this  distance  of  time  and  place,  it 
is  of  little  consequence  "(! !)  —  of  little  consequence  to  know  the  precise 
meaning  of  what  God  has  caused  to  be  written  in  his  Word  for  our  in- 
struction ! 


92  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

It  is  on  this  account  that  the  Lord  said,  "  I  council  thee  to  buy  of 
me,  gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayst  be  rich."  (Rev.  iii.  18.) 
And  the  Prophet,  when  describing  the  decline  of  good  among  the 
people,  said :  "  How  is  the  gold  become  dim !  how  is  the  most  fine 
gold  changed ! "  (Lam.  iv.  1.)  The  genuine  church,  the  New 
Jerusalem,  is  described  to  be  a  City  of  Pure  Gold,  for  no  other 
reason  than  to  represent  the  genuine  good,  by  which  it  will  be  in- 
fluenced, and  of  which  its  establishment  will  be  productive. 

So,  likewise,  precious  stones,  because  of  the  difference  in  their 
resplendence,  are  significant  of  truths  in  their  diversified  brilliancy. 
The  twelve  precious  stones,  which  were  the  urim  and  thummim 
on  Aaron's  ephod,  represented  the  divine  truth  in  all  its  vast  and 
magnificent  variety,  and  they  were  set  in  gold,  and  worn  upon  the 
breast,  to  signify  that  they  originated  in  love.  (Exodus  xxviii.) 
The  foundations  of  the  New  Jerusalem  were  "  garnished  with  all 
manner  of  precious  stones,"  (Rev.  xxi.  19 ;)  to  signify  that  the  real 
Church  of  God  is  grounded  upon  every  pure  and  genuine  truth. 
So  that,  by  the  gold  and  precious  stones,  which  were  in  the  land 
of  Havilah,  are  denoted,  the  aflfection  of  love  with  its  correspond- 
ing truths,  implanted  in  the  interiors  of  the  mind.  'This  is  particu- 
larly confirmed  by  the  statement  of  the  Prophet,  who,  when  treating 
of  man  in  the  possession  of  heavenly  riches,  says,  "  Full  of  wisdom 
and  perfect  in  beauty.  Thou  hast  been  in  Eden,  the  garden  of  God ; 
every  precious  stone  was  thy  covering ; "  (Ezekiel  xxviii.  12,  13 ;) 
such,  then,  is  the  condition  of  the  will  of  the  celestial  man  or  church, 
treated  of  under  the  generic  name  of  Adam. 

Again,  by  Gihon  is  literally  meant  a  stream  or  valley  of  grace  ; 
but  it  spiritually  signifies  the  influence  of  divine  wisdom  upon  the 
understanding,  and  through  which  it  attains  intellectual  perception 
as  heavenly  graces.  But  what  is  the  purpose  of  this  influential 
grace  ?  Certainly,  it  is  the  purification  and  enlargement  of  human 
thought.  It  is  when  a  stream  of  divine  wisdom  descends  into  our 
understanding,  that  we  are  enabled  to  think  with  clearness  and 
perspicuity  upon  things  of  a  spiritual  and  heavenly  nature.  In 
this,  we  are  at  once  enabled  to  perceive  ^lat  truth  is  truth  and  good 
is  good,  when  they  are  presented  to  our  consideration  and  accept- 
ance :  and  when  this  is  effected,  Gihon  is  said  to  compass  the  whole 
land  of  Cush,*  to  inform  us  that  it  includes  all  the  characteristics  of 

*  Cush,  the  Hebrew.  Our  translation  has  it  Ethiopia,  because  the  Sep- 
tuagint  rendered  it  by  AlQionla,  and  the  Vulgate  by  EtJiiopia,  which  has 
been  followed  by  most  all  succeeding  versions.     But  there  is  no  satisfac- 


HIDDEKEL   AND   ITS   INFLUENCES.  93 

the  understariding,  and  renders  it  fertile  in  thought  and  knowledge. 
The  land  of  Cush  is  here  mentioned,  to  signify  the  faculty  of  un- 
derstanding, much  in  the  same  way  that  Zion  and  Canaan  are 
sometimes  referred  to,  in  the  sense  of  holy  and  spiritual  things. 
This  faculty,  before  it  comes  under  the  influence  of  the  divine 
wisdom,  is  dark ;  and  Cush,  by  which  it  is  here  represented,  literal- 
ly signifies  what  is  black ;  it  is,  therefore,  an  appropriate  symbol 
of  that  faculty,  requiring  to  be  surrounded  with  a  stream  of  spirit- 
ual light,  and  which  is  described  to  have  taken  place. 

But  thirdly,  by  Hiddekel  is  literally  meant  a  sharp  voice,  and 
thus  it  becomes  an  apt  representative  of  that  stream  of  divine  wis- 
dom which  illuminates  the  reason.  Reason,  considered  in  itself, 
is  an  obscure  principle,  which  requires  to  be  sharpened  by  the  light 
of  revelation  before  it  can  know  any  thing  of  spiritual  things.  The 
Sages  of  Greece  and  Rome  never  discovered  by  it,  any  of  the 
genuine  truths  of  religion,  immortality,  or  heaven ;  it  attains  such 
knowledges  only  so  far  as  it  is  illustrated  by  revelation.  The  very 
process  of  reasoning  implies,  that  the  objects  we  would  discover 
by  its  means,  are  not  self-evident  and  clear  to  the  more  inward 
perceptions  of  the  understanding.  Doubts  and  difficulties  stand  in 
the  way  of  every  thing  which  is  to  be  reached,  only  by  an  effort 
of  reasoning,  and  even  when  it  has  done  its  utmost,  the  result  is, 
not  unfrequently,  far  from  being  either  satisfactory  or  convincing. 
What  one  man  pronounces  to  be  reasonable  and  believes  to  be  so, 
is,  by  another,  denounced  as  a  tissue  of  mistakes.  This  is  the 
ground  on  which  has  arisen  such  varieties  of  religious  sentiment 
and  faith.  Doubtless,  every  one  believes  his  views  on  such  mat- 
ters to  be  reasonable,  and  that  they  have  been  set  forth  and  de- 

tory  evidence  to  show,  and,  consequently,  some  reason  to*  doubt,  whether 
the  ancient  Cush  is  really  the  Ethiopia  of  modern  times.  Great  disputes 
exist  among  scripture  geographers,  upon  this  subject.  Bochart  places  it 
in  Arabia,  Gesenius  in  Africa,  Michaelis  and  Rosenmuller,  have  supposed 
It  in  both  places.  Others  have  sought  for  it  in  more  northerly  regions 
of  Asia,  as  in  the  Persian  provinces  of  Susiana,  in  Cuthah,  and  a  district 
of  Babylonia.  Indeed,  this  inquiry  is  interminable,  just  because  the 
name,  in  those  ancient  writings  is  used  in  a  figurative  sense,  and  not  to 
express  a  geographical  locality.  Ethiopia,  so  far  as  it  expresses  the  idea 
of  a  country  inhabited  by  the  sable  portion  of  our  race,  is  the  appropriate 
rendering  of  the  Hebrew  word  Cush,  as  denoting  blackness,  and,  on  this 
account,  Ethiopia  is  afterwards  employed  in  the  Scriptures,  with  the  same 
spiritual  signification.  Cush,  is  the  same  with  Ethiopia,  only  in  the  way 
of  symbol ;  they  cannot  be  shown  to  be  the  same  geographical  locality. 


94 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 


fended  with  what  are  considered  to  be  reasonable  arguments,  and 
yet,  after  all,  it  is  evident,  from  the  opposite  conclusions  which 
have  been  arrived  at,  that  the  reason  has  been  defective  somewhere. 
This  brief  intimation  of  a  common  fact,  which  may  be  easily  ex- 
tended by  the  thoughtful,  at  once  shows  to  us  how  necessary  it  is, 
that  reason  should  be  illustrated  with  revelation,  which  is  one  of 
the  streams  of  divine  wisdom :  we  cannot  attain  the  knowledge  of 
any  spiritual  things  without  it.  Heaven,  with  the  internal  things 
of  the  church  and  spiritual  futurity,  are  beyond  its  reach,  and  all 
that  the  truly  rational  mind  knows  about  them  is  derived  from  the 
divine  wisdom  affording  it  illustration.  The  stream,  Hiddekel,  is 
said  "  to  go  towards  the  east  of  Assyria,"  to  denote  the  progression 
of  divine  wisdom,  in  the  way  of  enlightening  the  rational  mind. 
The  enlightening  is  the  east,  whence  all  illumination  comes ;  and 
the  rational  mind  is  here  Assyria,  as  the  understanding  was  Cnsh, 
and  the  yill  Havilah,  as  explained  above.  Assyria  derived  its 
name  from  Asshur,  the  son  of  Shem,  and  not  from  the  son  of 
Hezron ;  and  the  word  properly  means  beholding,  which  circum- 
stance well  fitted  the  land  so  called,  to  be  employed  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  such  a  seeing  principle  as  that  of  the  rational  mind. 
It  is  on  account  of  this  signification,  that  Assyria,  like  Israel  and 
Egypt,  is  sometimes  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  without  any  nat- 
ural application.  One  instance  will  be  sufficient  to  produce.  The 
prophet  says,  "  In  that  day  shall  Israel  be  the  third  with  Egypt 
and  with  Assyria,  a  blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  land,  whom  the 
Lord  of  hosts  shall  bless,  saying.  Blessed  be  Egypt  my  people, 
and  Assyria  the  work  of  my  hands,  and  Israel  mine  inheritance." 
(Isaiah  xix.  25.)  This  is  plainly  a  prediction  concerning  a  state 
of  the  church,  in  which  its  natural,  (Egypt,)  rational,  (Assyria,) 
and  spiritual  (Israel,)  principles,  should  exist  in  their  proper  order, 
and  each  be  open  to  the  divine  blessing. 

But  the  fourth  river  was  Phrat,  which  literally  means  to  make 
fruitful ;  and  this  represents  the  influence  of  divine  wisdom  upon 
the  scientific  principle  of  the  mind,  so  as  to  render  it  prolific  in  the 
works  of  benevolence  and  use. 

The  knowledges  which  exist  in  the  natural  mind  are  merely  of 
an  external  and  scientific  kind.  The  natural  mind  is  scientific, 
and  adapted  for  scientific  things  merely.  By  these  are  not  meant 
philosophical  scientifics,  but  the  external  knowledge  of  religious 
things.  Thus  the  doctrinals  of  the  church,  its  rituals,  and  their 
modes  of  administration ;  indeed,  all  things  which  are  expressed 


SUMMARY    OF   THE    MEANING    OF    THE    RIVERS.  95 

in  thii  letter  of  the  Word,  are  mere  scientific  things,  adapted  to 
the  natura-l  mind,  and  as  such  they  will  remain,  until,  from  some 
more  interior  light,  man  begins  to  see  their  spiritual  origin  and  use. 
Most  professing  christians  know  many  things  about  the  literal 
histories  in  the  Word.  They  know  something  of  the  Histories  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  ;  also,  about  the  House  of  Israel,  in 
Egyptian  bondage,  their  deliverance  thence,  and  their  subsequent 
establishment  in  Canaan;  likewise,  of  the  Government  of  the 
Judges,  the  rule  of  the  kings,  the  denunciations  of  the  prophets, 
and  many  other  facts  which  the  Word  contains.  But  how  few 
are  they,  who  can  see  from  any  interior  ground,  that  all  these 
things  are  but  external  scientifics,  which,  nevertheless,  include 
within  them  celestial  and  spiritual  principles,  which  proves  the 
letter  to  be  divine.  This  is  a  desideratum  in  the  church.  We 
may  believe  these  scientifics  to  be  divine,  because  we  have  been 
tauglit  that  they  are  so,  either  by  tradition  or  authority :  but  it  is 
important  we  should  see  its  truth  from  some  interior  conviction  of 
our  own ;  yet,  this  is  accomplished  only  so  far  as  our  natural  mind 
is  influenced  and  illuminated  by  that  stream  of  divine  wisdom 
denominated  Phrat.  This  may  serve  to  show  the  meaning  of 
that  river,  as  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  most  ancient 
church. 

From  these  considerations,  we  learn  that  the  river  of  Eden 
denoted  the  divine  wisdom  proceeding  from  the  divine  love,  and 
that  its  division  into  four  heads,  upon  entering  the  garden,  was 
signified  its  diflferent  influences  upon  the  celestial,  spiritual,  ra- 
tional, and  scientific  principles  of  holy  and  intelligent  men. 

That  nothing  natural  could  have  been  intended  by  those  de- 
scriptions, must  be  evident  to  every  one,  who  will  venture  to  think 
above  a  common  prejudice.  Viewed  in  that  light,  it  is  full  of  dif- 
ficulties, which  neither  ingenuity  nor  learning  can  remove.  For 
instance,  who  does  not  know,  that  it  is  physically  impossible  a  river 
should  divide  itself  into  four  heads  or  sources  of  rivers.  For  if 
two  or  more  channels  are  presented  to  a  running  stream,  it  will 
not  divide  itself  distributively,  but  pour  its  whole  mass  into  the 
deepest  furrow  —  it  will  naturally  take  the  lowest  level :  and, 
moreover,  there  is  no  position  known  to  scientific  geography  which 
at  all  answers  to  the  Scripture  narrative.  Those  which  are  sup- 
posed to  come  nearest  to  the  description,  and  which  indeed  are 
very  distant,  necessarily  place  the  locality  of  Eden  in  Armenia, 
which  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Scripture  at  all.     A  garden  into 


96  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

which  one  river  ran,  and  which  was  then  to  be  distributed  into  four 
other  rivers,  necessarily  suggests  the  idea  of  a  large  tract  of 
country,  which  we  cannot  rationally  suppose  the  Lord  would  have 
required  to  have  been  "  dressed  and  kept "  by  an  individual, 
Adam.  We  conclude,  then,  that  these  things  were  ^vritten,  not 
to  point  out  a  geographical  locality,  but  to  represent  the  streams 
of  divine  wisdom  entering  into  the  minds  of  a  wise  and  happy 
people,  to  irrigate  their  mental  soil,  and  render  it  prolific  in  all 
that  is  good  and  estimable  in  his  divine  sight. 

By  the  divine  wisdom  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  is 
meant,  that  interior  dictate  which  we  believe  can  and  does  flow 
from  the  Lord,  into  the  will  and  perceptions  of  highly  cultivated 
humanity.  This,  indeed,  was  the  state  of  the  most  ancient  people 
during  the  time  of  their  integrity.  They  thought  of  nothing  but 
what  they  loved,  so  that  their  intellectual  and  voluntary  principles 
must  have  been  in  the  closest  connection,  and,  as  it  were,  one  in 
every  thought  and  act.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  that  peo- 
ple were  called  Man^  a  dignity  which  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  attained  by  any  other  community  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
tures !  Some  remains  of  this  primeval  excellence  seem  to  have 
been  recognized  by  the  apostle,  who,  when  speaking  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, said,  they  "do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law  — 
which  shows  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their 
conscience  also  bearing  witness."  (Romans  ii.  14, 15.)  It  is  also 
declared  that  the  "  Lord  would  put  his  law  in  the  inward  parts  of 
men,  and  write  it  upon  their  hearts,  so  that  he  will  be  their  God, 
and  they  shall  be  his  people."  (Jer.  xxxi.  33.)  It  is  therefore 
evident,  that  there  can  be  such  an  influx  of  intelligence  from  the 
Lord  as  is  mentioned  above.  The  means,  however,  which  are  to 
be  employed  for  its  communication,  in  the  case  referred  to,  are  the 
written  Word.  But  such  a  medium  does  not  appear  to  have 
existed  among  the  Adamic  people,  nor  could  it  have  been  neces- 
sary, so  long  as  they  remained  in  love  to  God  above  all  things. 
The  law  and  the  prophets  were  given  after  this  love  was  lost,  with 
the  view  of  assisting  in  its  restoration:  they  "hang  upon  it." 
(Matt.  xxii.  37  -  40.)  In  such  a  state  they  would  receive  instruc- 
tion, in  the  way  of  internal  dictate,  immediately  from  the  Lord. 
This  would  be  inscribed  upon  their  hearts,  and  from  thence  there 
would  be  an  influx  of  truth  into  their  spiritual  minds,  next  into 
their  rational,  and  finally,  into  their  natural  minds,  and  consequent- 
ly, into  the  natural  scientifics  which  there  existed;  this  would 


AMM    NAMiN^G    T5IE    LIVING    CREATlORKS.  97 

enable  them  to  see  the  absolute  distinction  between  spiritual  and 
natural  things,  and  also,  to  perceive  the  correspondence  which 
subsisted  between  them.  Hence  may  be  seen  what  is  meant  by 
the  divine  wisdom,  spoken  of  above,  and  its  respective  inflowings 
into  the  several  orderly  principles  of  human  chaxacter  which  then 
existed. 

With  such  a  people,  internal  and  heavenly  things  would  be 
perceived  in  purer  light,  than  those  which  were  external  and 
worldly,  because  such  things  would  occupy  their  chief  attention. 
If  such  a  people  had  read  the  Word  which  we  possess,  the  internal 
sense  of  it  would,  doubtless,  have  been  presented  to  their  minds 
with  greater  clearness  than  the  letter,  because  their  states,  as  it 
were,  lay  entirely  upon  the  heavenly  side  of  this  revelation.  But 
in  after-times  this  condition  became  reversed.  Man,  having 
descended  from  this  elevation  into  external  and  terrestrial  loves, 
can  now  see  internal  and  spiritual  things  only  in  obscurity  and 
shadow ;  and  so  the  external  sense  of  the  Word  appears  to  him 
in  better  light  than  its  spiritual  meaning :  he  has  passed  to  the 
worldly  side  of  revelation.  This  side  of  it  has  been  mercifully 
provided  for  his  state,  and  designed,  by  its  peculiar  construction, 
to  raise  and  conduct  him  into  the  light  and  enjoyment  of  the 
other, 

CHAPTER  Vni. 

ADAH  NAMING  THE  LIVING  CRBATUKE8. 

**  Any  theory,  on  whatever  subject,  that  is  really  sound,  can  never  be 
inimical  to  a  religion  founded  on  truth ;  and  the  part  of  a  lover  of 
truth  is,  to  follow  her,  at  all  seeming  hazards,  after  the  example  of 
Him,  who  came  into  the  world,  that  He  might  bear  witness  to  the 
truth."  —  Richard  Whateley,  D.D,,  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 

The  circumstance  of  naming  the  living  creatures  is  one  of 
religious  importance,  and  it  involves  matter  of  peculiar  interest.  It 
is  thus  related :  —  "  Out  of  the  ground,  the  Lord  God  formed  every 
beast  of  the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  air,  and  brought  them  unto 
Adam,  to  see  what  he  would  call  them ;  and  whatsoever  Adam  called 
every  living  creature,  that  was  the  name  thereof  (Gen.  ii.  19.) 
The  careful  reader  will  observe  it  is  here  stated,  that  "  out  of  thR 
ground  the  Lord  God  formed  every  beast  of  the  field,  and  every 
fowl  of  the  air ; "  but  if  he  will  turn  to  the  20th  verse  of  the  first 
chapter,  he  will  there  find  it  written,  "  And  God  said.  Let  the 
9 


98  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORr, 

ivaters  bring  forth  abundantly  the  moving  creature  that  hath  life*, 
and  fowl  that  may  fly  above  the  earth,  in  the  open  firmament  of 
heaven."  Thus,  in  the  one  case  the  ground  is  said  to  have  been 
their  source,  and  in  the  other,  the  water.  Whence  arises  this  disr 
crepancy  ?  It  may  be  admitted,  that  the  command  for  the  waters 
"  to  bring  forth  the  moving  creature  that  hath  life,"  ought  to  be 
understood  as  referring  only  to  the  piscatory  tribes,  for  we  find 
that  purely  land  animals  are  spoken  of  as  liaving  been  created  on 
the  following  day.  The  difficulty  more  particularly  adverted  to  is 
this,  that  in  the  first  statement  the  waters  are  distinctly  said  to 
have  brought  forth  every  winged  fowl,  whereas  in  the  second  it  is 
as  plainly  written,  that  "  Out  of  the  ground  the  Lord  God  formed 
every  fowl  of  the  air."  Now,  what  can  be  the  reason  of  those 
apparently  hostile  statements,  occurring  as  they  do,  so  exceedingly 
close  upon  each  other ;  and  upon  what  principle  are  they  to  be 
reconciled  ?  There  is  plainly  a  disagreement  in  the  letter,  which 
requires  to  be  removed.  The  "  Fragmental  Hypothesis "  would, 
perhaps,  attempt  it  by  supposing  that  they  are  merely  tlie  records 
of  two  different  traditions  of  the  same  general  circumstances,  in 
which  we  are  not  to  look  for  particular  niceties  of  expression. 
But  surely,  this  cannot  be  satisfactory  ;  under  such  a  view  of  the 
case,  what  is  to  become  of  the  fact  of  both  being  equally  a  reve- 
lation, and  consequently  a  divine  composition  ?  Some  higher 
ground  than  the  literal  sense  must  be  taken,  because  some  supe- 
rior truth  is  meant  to  be  expressed,  and  we  have  mentioned  the 
circumstance,  not  because  we  think  it  a  difficulty,  but  chiefly,  to 
draw  attention  to  the  truths  intended  to  be  stated. 

It  was  observed  above,  that  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  treated 
of  the  creation,  or  development,  of  the  spiritual  man,  and  all  the 
living  affections  and  thoughts  which  are  proper  to  his  condition  ; 
and  also,  that  the  second  chapter  treated  of  the  celestial  man,  and 
all  the  living  affections  and  thoughts  which  are  proper  to  him. 
Some  reasons  for  those  distinctions  were  likewise  given ;  among 
others,  that  the  man,  in  the  second  chapter,  was  no  longer  spoken 
of  as  "  earth,"  but  as  "  ground,"  and  that  the  name  of  the  Supreme 
Being  was  extended  from  "  God  "  to  "  Lord  God."  Thus,  the  two 
chapters  treat  of  two  different  states,  which  distinguished  the  most 
ancient  people.  To  both  of  those  states,  there  belonged  an  affec- 
tion for  the  intellectual  things  of  an  exalted  religion,  but  they 
took  their  rise  in  different  sources,  and  therefore,  their  origination 
is  differently  described.    In  the  first  case,  the  affection  for  intel- 


A   DISCREPANCY    RECONCILED.  99 

lectual  things  (which  are  the  winged  fowls)  arose  out  of  the  general 
knowledge  of  religion,  and  therefore,  it  was  commanded  that  "  the 
waters  "  should  bring  them  forth  ;  (see  page  53',)  but  in  the  second 
case,  the  affections  for  intellectual  things  (now  called  fowl  of  the 
air)  sprung  out  of  the  prolifications  of  love,  and  hence  they  are 
described  to  have  been  made  by  the  Lord  God,  out  of  "the 
ground." 

Every  one  must  know,  that  differences  of  religious  character 
exist,  and  that  they  arise  from  differ^t  sources.  It  would  not 
indicate  the  distinction  to  say,  that  the  inferior  state  sprang  from 
the  same  source  as  the  superior ;  to  describe  them  accurately,  we 
must  employ  distinctive  terms,  and  this  is  precisely  what  revela- 
tion has  done,  in  declaring  the  intellectual  things  of  the  spiritual 
man,  to  have  been  created  by  God  out  of  the  watery  and  those  of 
the  celestial  man  out  of  the  ground.  There  is,  then,  no  actual 
discrepancy  between  the  two  statements,  because  they  do  not 
relate  to  the  same,  but  to  different  circumstances. 

In  speaking  of  the  fifth  day's  creation,  it  was  observed,  that  the 
objects  of  animated  nature  were  chosen,  and  frequently  employed 
in  the  Word,  to  represent  the  living  affections  of  men ;  further 
evidences  of  that  fact  were  likewise  promised:  an  occasion  is 
here  presented  for  this  purpose. 

It  is  evident,  that  some  idea  of  the  spiritual  representation  of 
animals  must  have  been  the  reason,  why  they  were  so  extensively 
employed  in  the  sacrificial  worship,  which,  independently  of  that 
established  among  the  Jews,  was  spread  throughout  the  continent 
of  Asia,  This,  also,  must  have  been  the  source,  whence  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  adopted  certain  animals  for  sacrifices,  during 
some  of  their  public  festivities.  We  do  not  suppose  these  people 
to  have  attached  any  spiritual  notion  to  such  sacrifices ;  what  we 
mean  is,  that  if  they  are  traced  through  the  sources  whence  they 
were  derived,  that  will  be  found  to  have  been  their  origin.  Sacri- 
fices, considered  in  themselves,  are  most  irrational  modes  of  wor- 
ship,* nor  could  they  have  been  adopted,  until  men  had  sunk  so 
low  in  the  scale  of  religious  intelligence,  as  to  suppose  that  the 
offering  up  of  an  animal  to  the  Lord,  was  the  same  thing  as  the 
dedication  of  that  principle  to  His  service,  which  it  was  originally 
understood  to  signify.  The  animal  was  mistaken  for  the  principle 
which  it  represented,  and  the  dedication  of  the  principle  to  spirit- 
ual use  was  corrupted  into  a  sacrifice.     Their  origin  cannot  be 

*  See  Archbishop  Magee  on  the  Sacrifices  and  Atonement. 


100  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

reasonably  accounted  for  upon  any  other  ground.  This,  alsc, 
explains  why  it  was,  that  several  animals  among  some  of  the  older 
nations,  became  objects  of  such  peculiar  attention  and  respect. 
This  circumstance  was  very  remarkable  among  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians. Herodotus  says,  (Euterpe,  Ixv ;)  "  both  those  which  are 
wild  and  those  which  are  domestic  are  regarded  as  sacred.  If  I 
were  to  explain  the  reason  of  this  prejudice,  I  should  be  led  to  the 
discussion  of  those  sacred  subjects,  which  I  particularly  wish  to 
avoid."  Here,  the  historian  distinctly  connects  their  reverence  of 
animals,  with  some  isoteric  and  religious  views  ;  and,  although  he 
does  not  inform  us  what  these  were,  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt,  that  at  some  period  of  Egyptian  history,  thg  animals  had 
been  understood  as  the  representatives  of  certain  moral  qualities, 
and  that  it  was  not  until  after  a  succession  of  corruptions,  and 
when  their  proper  signification  was  lost,  that  veneration  began  to 
be  attached  to  them.  The  worship  of  certain  animals  was  a  per- 
version of  the  respect,  once  paid  to  the  human  principles  of  which 
they  were  significant. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  with  care,  those  portions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  which  beasts  and  animals  are  mentioned,  and  not  perceive 
that  they  have  a  symbolical  meaning;  they  are  spoken  of  both 
generically  and  specifically,  under  circumstances  in  which  it  is 
evident  spiritual  things,  and  not  natural  existences,  are  implied. 
For  example,  the  Prophet,  treating  of  the  peaceable  character  of 
the  Lord's  kingdom,  says,  "  The  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb, 
and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  and  the  calf,  and  the 
young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together  ;  and  a  little  child  shall  lead 
them.  And  the  cow  and  the  bear  shall  feed  ;  their  young  ones 
shall  lie  down  together ;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straAv  like  an  ox. 
And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and  the 
weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cockatrice*  den.  They 
shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain."  (Isaiah  xi. 
6-9.)  Here  we  have  no  less  than  fourteen  different  animals, 
besides  children,  referred  to,  every  one  of  which  is  certainly 
intended  to  represent  some  internal  affection.  There  are,  how- 
ever, two  classes  of  them,  one  tame  and  harmless,  the  other  fierce 
and  dangerous ;  the  former  plainly  denote  the  affections  which  are 
good  and  innocent,  and  the  latter  those  which  are  wicked  and 
dostructive  ;  and  by  their  all  dwelling  together,  must  be  meant  a 
state,  in  whicji  the  influences  of  the  good,  will  have  subdued  the 
pernicious  tendencies  of  the  evil,  and  kept  them  in  subjection  to 


THE   SIGNIFICATION    OF   ANIMALS.  101 

Its  superior  sentiments.  It  is  also  written,  that  the  Lord  would 
"  make  a  covenant  with  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  with  the  fowls 
of  heaven."  (Hosea  ii.  18.)  That  "the  beasts  of  the  field  would 
cry  unto  Him;"  (Joel  i.  20;)  they  are  also  exhorted  not  to  be 
afraid ;  (Joel  ii.  22 ;)  in  which  passages,  by  beasts  cannot  be  meant 
beasts,  but  certain  human  affections,  which  they  are  mentioned  to 
represent  These  are  the  things  with  which  the  Lord  effects  his 
covenants  ;  these  are  the  principles  which  can  cry  unto  Him,  and 
may  be  benefited  by  His  merciful  persuasions.  Ezekiel  was  com- 
manded to  "  say  unto  every  feathered  fowl,  and  to  every  beast  of 
the  field,  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come :  gather  yourselves  on 
every  side  to  my  sacrifice,  that  I  do  sacrifice  for  you,  even  a  great 
sacrifice  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel."  (Ezek.  xxxix.  17.)  Here, 
likewise,  it  ia  evident  that  natural  beasts  and  fowl  are  not  meant, 
but,  instead  thereof,  the  affections  of  religious  life,  and  the  senti- 
ments of  religious  thought,  since  it  is  these  alone  which  can 
attend  the  invitations  to  a  religious  act  So,  in  the  Psalms,  it  is 
written,  "Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons,  and  all 
deeps.  Beasts  and  all  cattle ;  creepmg  things,  and  flying  fowl." 
(Psalm  cxlviii.  7-10.)  It  is  plain  that  we  are  not  here  to  under- 
stand the  irrational  animals  which  are  mentioned,  but  certain  liv- 
ing affections  and  thoughts  of  men,  to  which  they  correspond  ;  for 
every  one  must  have  observed,  that  there  is  a  conspicuous  analogy 
between  the  natural  qualities  of  some  animals,  and  some  of  the 
moral  sentiments  of  the  human  character.* 

Evidences  of  this  kind  could  be  extended  to  a  considerable 
length,  but  these  are  sufficient ;  they  suggest,  somewhat  impres- 
sively, that  to  maintain  the  statement,  that  "  Adam  gave  names  to 
all  cattle,  and  to  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  every  beast  of  the  field," 
(Gen.  ii.  20,)  in  a  literal  sense,  is  to  mistake  its  meaning.  There 
are  certain  facts  and  considerations,  in  relation  with  such  an  idea, 
which  are  exceedingly  embarrassing  to  those  who  will  hazard  ap 
independent  reflection  upon  the  subject ;  and  we  conceive  the  real 
meaning  of  the  apparent  history  is  to  be  sought  for  in  its  spiritual 
sense.  If  we  look  upon  the  statement  of  Adam  naming  the 
creatures,  to  signify  the  high  character  of  that  ancient  people, 
impressing  a  peculiar  quality  upon  those  internal  affections  and 
sentiments,  to  which  the  objects  of  animated  nature  correspond, 

*  Clement  of  Alexandria,  quotes  verses  from  Xenophanes,  the  Colo- 
phonean,  which  state  that  every  species  of  animal  supplies  metaphor  to 
aid  the  imagination  in  its  ideas  of  superior  things. 
9* 


102  ANTEDILtrvlAN   HISTORY, 

we  have  at  once  presented  to  us  both  an  intelligible  and  religiocw 
idea ;  and  this  can  hardly  be  said  of  the  notion,  which  contem- 
plates him  as  a  zoologist. 

It  is  said  that  all  cattle  and  fowls,  and  every  beast,  were  named 
by  Adam.  If  the  merely  literal  sense  be  insisted  on,  to  be  the 
true  and  only  design  of  this  statement,  then  we  are,  at  the  very 
outset,  compelled,  by  science,  to  curtail  the  signification  of  words, 
which  are  employed  with  an  unlimited  meaning.  For,  it  is  plain, 
from  the  discoveries  which  geology  has  made,  that  there  were 
whole  classes  of  animals  which  had  existed  at  immense  intervals 
of  time,  and  successively  became  extinct,  long  before  there  were 
any  traces  of  humanity  discernible.  It  is  therefore  demonstrable, 
that  Adam  could  not  have  named  all  and  every  creature.  To  this 
it  may  be  replied,  that  we  ought  not  to  interpret  all  and  every  beast 
to  mean  any  more  than  those  which  were  contemporary  with  him  ; 
but  if  so,  at  what  point  are  we  stop,  in  putting  a  limited  meaning 
on  terms  of  unlimited  signification.  Such  a  view,  if  pressed  with 
difficulties,  may  refuse  to  admit  their  application  to  the  whole  ani- 
mal world  then  extant,  and  successively  shrink  them  up  to  mean 
only  those  that  were  in  Palestine,  or  Eden,  or  perhaps  the  garden 
only.  It  may  be  said,  that  we  should  receive  those  documents  as 
popular  statements,  and  not  expect  to  find  them  couched  in  lan- 
guage technically  correct.  To  this  we  wish  only  to  observe,  that 
we  do  not  believe  them  to  have  been  loosely  written,  as  the  word 
popular  would  seem  to  imply  ;  we  regard  the  language  of  revela- 
tion to  have  been  chosen  with  a  care  and  deliberation,  over  the 
preservation  of  which  the  Divine  Providence  has  been  peculiarly 
watchful. 

If  we  take  a  religious  view  of  the  intentions  of  God's  Word, 
we  must  be  led  to  see  that  this  narrative,  concerning  naming  the 
creatures,  was  intended  for  some  spiritual  instruction,  altogether 
apart  from  the  statement  of  the  letter.  For  surely,  it  is  difficult 
to*  see  Avhat  religious  act  could  be  involved  in  calling  a  lion,  a 
lion ;  a  bear,  a  bear ;  a  sheep,  a  sheep ;  or  a  lamb,  a  lamb  ;  nor 
is  it  easy  to  perceive  how  such  an  employment  consisted  with  a 
religious  state  of  mind,  so  extensively  cultivated,  and  highly 
developed,  as  was  that  of  Adam's.  If  we  suppose  it  to  have  been 
given  him  as  an  intellectual  exercise,  which  is  among  the  highest 
grounds  that  can  be  pretended  for  it,  still  we  must  inquire,  what 
possible  relation  could  it  have  to  spiritual  and  heavenly  uses  ?  To 
give  a  name  to  a  thing  that  is  without  one  in  the  world,  may  bo 


ANIMALS    WHICH   ADAM    DID   NOT   NAME.  103 

useful  to  distinguish  it,  and  thereby  to  provide  a  verbal  means  for 
suggesting  the  idea  of  it  to  the  mind ;  but  it  has  very  little  con- 
nection with  uses  that  are  essentially  religious.  This  is  evident 
from  experience,  for  it  has  happened  that  in  these  days  of  discov- 
ery, men  have  not  unfrequently  been  required  to  give  names  to 
extinct  species  of  animals,  which  it  is  certain  Adam  never  saw, 
and  yet  in  giving  those  names  they  have  neither  felt,  or  intended, 
more  than  is  included  in  the  common  sentiment  attending  the 
selection  of  an  appropriate  appellation. 

It  will  hardly  be  pretended  that  the  names,  whether  popular  or 
scientific,  of  the  animals  which  are  now  extant,  are  those  which 
were  pronounced  by  Adam.  There  is  not  the  least  evidence  to 
show,  that  society  at  any  time,  or  among  any  people,  adopted  his 
supposed  zoological  vocabulary.  To  what  purpose  then  was  it 
given,  if  it  did  not  come  into  use  and  obtain  a  currency  ?  Ac- 
cording to  the  common  view,  there  was  no  co-eval  society,  and 
therefore,  it  could  not  have  been  for  their  use  and  information ; 
nor  is  there  the  slightest  intimation  of  his  having  instructed  pos- 
terity in  the  names,  which  a  mistaken  view  of  this  narration  has 
led  men  to  suppose,  he  gave  to  the  creatures. 

But  supposing  it  could  be  satisfactorily  proved,  that  the  Hebrew 
names  of  the  various  beasts  mentioned  in  the  Scripture,  were  really 
those  which  had  been  given  to  them  by  Adam;  and  supposing 
that  we  conceded,  which  indeed  we  do,  that  those  names,  were 
founded  on  a  knowledge  of  some  prominent  feature,  or  remark- 
able characteristic  of  the  creatures  to  which  they  are  applied, 
then. we  should  possess  some  evidence  of  the  man,  having  been 
distinguished  by  a  superior  genius  in  respect  to  this  particular 
department  of  nature.  But  why  in  this  department  only  ?  if  the 
circumstance  of  giving  names  to  all  cattle,  fowl,  and  beasts  were 
a  display  of  intellectual  pre-eminence,  why  was  it  not  also  exhib- 
ited in  respect  to  the  fish  ?  If  all  the  creatures  of  the  earth  could 
have  been  collected  in  the  garden,  with  the  view  of  receiving 
their  names,  why  might  not  all  the  fishes  of  the  sea  have  been 
gathered  in  the  river  of  that  garden,  for  the  same  purpose  ?  What 
was  possible  in  the  one  case,  could  not  have  been  impossible  in 
the  other.  But  why  were  the  objects  of  vegetable  nature  omitted 
to  be  named  ?  Surely,  a  knowledge  of  the  distinction  between 
different  plants  and  trees,  must  have  been  a  subject  of  much 
concern  to  Adam,  particularly  as  his  attention  had  been  distinctly 
drawn  to  the  subject,  through  the  naming  of  two  trees  by  the 
Lord  himself:  also,  by  his  having  been  commanded  to  dress  and 


104  ANTEDILtJVIAN    HISTORY. 

keep  the  garden,  and  told  that  he  might  freely  eat  of  every  tree 
but  one.  Certainly,  if  names  for  any  objects  were  of  importance  to 
distinguish  them,  they  must  have  been  so  in  the  vegetable  depart- 
ment of  nature.  But  to  these,  we  do  not  read  of  any  names  being 
given  by  Adam.  If  the  giving  of  names  to  animals  was  an  intel- 
lectual exercise,  the  giving  of  names  to  vegetables  could  not  have 
been  otherwise.  There  must  have  been  some  reason  for  this 
omission,  and  what  other  reason  can  be  offered  besides  this, — 
That  they  were  not  suited  to  the  representative  purpose  of  the  narra- 
tive, which  treats  of  a  higher  state  of  interior  and  intellectual  life, 
than  what  the  fishes  or  the  objects  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  were 
adapted  to  represent  ? 

We  see  that  the  whole  subject,  viewed  from  a  literal  aspect,  is 
full  of  difficulties,  —  difficulties  of  a  religious,  moral,  and  scien- 
tific nature,  —  difficulties  not  of  that  class  which  industry  and 
research  are  capable  of  removing,  but  of  a  character  which  nei- 
ther learning  nor  ingenuity  can  surmount.  The  source  of  them  is, 
that  erroneous  ground  of  interpretation,  which  consists  in  mistak- 
ing the  descriptions  of  a  figurative  narrative  for  their  literal  sense. 

The  creatures,  agreeably  to  a  style  of  expression  which  pre- 
vailed among  the  ancients,  and  which  originated  in  a  perception 
of  the  correspondences  which  exist  between  natural  and  spiritual 
things,  are  significant  of  certain  classes  of  aff*ection  and  thought 
which  distinguished  celestial  men.  Of  this,  some  examples  and 
expositions  have  b^en  given  from  the  prophetical  writings,  the 
style  of  which  took  its  rise  from  that  which  existed  with  a  more 
remote  and  superior  people. 

The  order  in  which  the  creatures  are  mentioned  is,  cattle,  fowl, 
and  beasts.  The  word  rendered  "cattle,"  should  have  been 
beasts,  implying,  indeed,  those  of  a  peaceful  nature,  and  tliat 
which  is  translated  beast,"  should  have  been  wild  beasts,  to  indi- 
cate such  as  were  of  a  less  pacific  character.  These  creatures 
are  frequently  spoken  of  in  the  prophetical  Word,  and  they  are, 
in  all  cases,  most  carefully  distinguished.  Now,  by  beasts,  —  the 
tame,  the  peaceful,  and  pacific,  —  are  represented  the  good  affec- 
tions of  the  will,  or  celestial  man ;  by  the  fowls  of  the  air,  are 
denoted  the  true  perceptions  of  the  understanding,  or  spiritual 
man ;  and  by  the  wild  beasts,  are  signified  the  general  affections 
of  the  natural  man,  which,  from  their  greater  remoteness  from  the 
Lord  and  closer  adjacency  to  the  world,  always  require  the  influ- 
ence of  superior  principles  to  preserve  them  innocent  and  harm- 
less.   These  particulars  could  be  proved  by  numerous  citatiopa 


NAMES    EXPRESSIVE    OF    QUALITIES.  105 

from  the  Word;  we,  however,  will  only  adduce,  for  each,  one 
confirmatory  instance. 

That  beasts  represented  the  good  affections  of  the  celestial  man, 
is  evident  from  its  being  said,  that  "  beasts  were  in  heaven,"  and 
that  "  four  beasts  fell  down  and  worshipped  God,  saying.  Amen ; 
Alleluia."  (Rev.  xix.  4,  and  vii.  11.)  These  circumstances  cannot 
be  predicated  of  natural  beasts,  but  only  of  the  good  affections  of 
celestial  men  which  they  represent. 

That  fowls  denote  the  true  perception  of  the  spiritual  man,  is 
plain,  for  similar  reasons.  An  "  angel  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying  to  all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven.  Come  and 
gather  yourselves  together  unto  the  supper  of  the  Great  God." 
(Rev.  xix.  17.)  This  invitation  was  not  delivered  to  irrational, 
irresponsible  birds,  but  to  the  intellectual  perceptions  of  the  spir- 
itual man,  of  which  they  are  significant.  And  that  by  the  tvild 
beasts  are  signified  the  general  affections  of  the  natural  man,  wliich 
are  preserved  in  order  by  the  influence  of  superior  examples,  ap- 
pears from  this  declaration ;  "  The  wild  beasts  of  the  field  shall 
honor  me,  because  I  give  waters  in  the  wilderness,  and  rivers  in 
tlie  desert,  to  give  drink  to  my  people."  *  Wild  beasts  give  no 
honor  to  God  on  account  of  the  blessings  which  he  bestows  upon 
mankind ;  but  they  are  said  to  do  so,  on  account  of  the  represen- 
tation they  are  selected  to  sustain. 

Now  the  living  creatures  which  were  brought  to  Adam,  were 
of  three  descriptions :  they  consisted  of  celestial  affections,  spir- 
itual perceptions,  and  natural  delights  ;  and  the  Lord  is  said  to 
have  formed,  and  brought  them  unto  him,  to  reveal  that  he  is  the 
author  of  their  existence,  and  the  giver  of  them  to  men. 

But  they  were  brought  to  Adam  for  a  particular  purpose,  —  to 
see  what  he  would  call  them ;  that  is,  to  observe  the  quality  which 
he,  in  the  exercise  of  his  freedom  and  responsibility,  would  impress 
upon  them.  To  call  by  a  name,  and  to  give  a  name,  are  forms  of 
expression  which  frequently  occur  in  the  Scriptures,  but  they  do 
not  always  mean  to  pronounce  a  vocable ;  their  design  is  to  indi- 
cate a  quality.  Thus  the  angel  who  wrestled  with  Jacob,  said 
unto  him,  "  Thy  name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel." 
(Gen.  xxxii.  28.)  This  change  of  name  was  intended  to  express  a 
change  which  had  taken  place  in  the  quality  of  his  character,  hence 

*  Isaiah  xliii.  20,  This  passage,  in  the  authorized  version,  has  simply 
beasts  ;  but  the  original  word  here,  and  in  several  other  places  where  it  is 
translated  beasts  only,  properly  means  wild  beasts,  as,  indeed,  the  context 
commonly  shows. 


106  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

it  is  immediately  added,  "  for  as  a  prince  thou  hast  power  with  God 
and  with  men,  and  hast  prevailed."  So,  again,  when  the  Lord 
said  of  the  church,  "  I  have  called  thee  by  thy  name,  I  have  sur- 
named  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me,"  (Isaiah  xlv.  4 ;)  the 
meaning  is,  that  a  new  quality  had  been  imparted,  and  yet  its  ad- 
vantages had  not  been  appreciated.  The  Lord  said  he  would 
write  his  new  name  upon  him  who  overcometh,  (Rev.  iii.  12 ;)  to 
show  that  a  new  quality  will  be  given  to  the  spiritual  character  of 
those  who  conquer  in  temptations.  And  those  "  whose  names  are 
not  written  in  the  book  of  life,"  (Rev.  xiii.  8 ;)  are  plainly  those 
whose  internal  qualities  are  such  as  to  exclude  them  from  the  heav- 
enly kingdom.  Hence,  it  is  evident,  that  to  give  a  name,  denotes 
to  impress  a  quality  upon  the  object  of  which  it  is  predicated ;  and 
this,  also,  is  its  meaning  in  the  case  of  Adam  naming  the  creatiort. 

The  circumstance  will  admit  of  illustration  from  experience. 
It  frequently  happens  that  some  good  affections  and  true  ideas  are 
suddenly  introduced  into  the  human  mind.  They  come  under  cir- 
cumstances in  which  we  did  not  expect  them,  and  we  are  enabled 
fjo  perceive  their  excellence.  Doubtless,  these  spiritual  beasts  and 
fowl,  are  of  divine  origination,  and  surely  they  are  brought  to  us 
by  infinite  wisdom  to  see  what  we  will  call  them,  that  is,  to  give  us 
the  opportunity  of  receiving,  and  impressing  upon  them,  such  a 
quality  as  we,  in  the  exercise  of  our  freedom,  may  choose  to  adopt, 
and  which  quality,  when  so  impressed,  remains  upon  them  so  far  as 
our  own  individuality  is  concerned;  a  circumstance  which  the 
representative  history  thus  expresses,  "  whatsoever  Adam  called 
every  living  creature,  that  was  the  name  thereof." 

Such,  we  conceive  to  have  been  the  meaning  of  the  narrative  of 
Adam,  naming  the  living  creatures.  Under  this  view,  it  is  brought 
home  to  the  business  and  bosoms  of  religious  men.  It  is  beauti- 
fully consistent  with  the  Word  of  God,  and  eminently  practical. 
The  experience  of  men  presents  a  counterpart  of  it,  and  so  a  ra- 
tional interpretation. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ITS  NOT  BEING  GOOD  THAT  ADAM  SHOULD  BE  ALONE  :  —  HIS  DEEP  SLEEP  :^ 
—  THE  TAKING  OF  A  RIB  FROM  HIM  AND  BUILDING  IT  INTO  A  WOMAN. 

"  It  requires  but  little  attention  in  any  one,  to  discern  that  woman  was 
not  formed  out  of  the  rib  of  a  man ;  and  that  deeper  arcana  are  here 
implied."  —  Swedenborg.    Arcana  Ccelestia,  n.  152. 

It  is  written,  that  "  The  Lord  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  man 
should  be  alone ;  I  will  make  him  an  help,  meet  for  him.     And  the 


CREATION    OF    THE    WOMAN.  107 

Lord  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam ;  and  he  slept : 
and  he  took  one  of  his  ribs,  and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof. 
And  the  rib,  which  the  Lord  God  had  taken  from  the  man,  builded 
he  a  woman,  and  brought  her  unto  the  man.  And  Adam  said,  this 
is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh :  she  shall  be  called 
woman,  because  she  was  taken  out  of  man."  (Gen.  ii.  18,  21,  22, 
23.) 

These  statements  are  remarkable,  not  only  on  account  of  their 
apparent  singularity,  but  for  other  circumstances,  when  considered 
as  a  literal  history.  In  that  point  of  view,  there  are  several  diffi- 
culties which  could  not  have  existed,  if  the  narrative  had  not  been 
constructed  with  some  more  recondite  design  than  what  appears 
upon  the  surface. 

As  already  remarked,  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  informs  us, 
that  the  female  was  created  upon  the  sixth  day,  and  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  that  day's  work  it  is  said,  that  "  God  saw  every  thing  that 
he  had  made,  and  behold,  it  was  very  good."  But  in  the  second 
chapter  we  find,  that  after  the  seventh  day,  when  Adam  had  been 
placed  in  the  garden,  it  was  discovered  "  not  to  be  good  that  he 
should  be  alone,"  and  that  this  circumstance  originated  the  woman. 

For  the  solution  of  these  discrepancies,  it  is  requisite  to  admit 
that  the  two  chapters  treat  of  two  different  conditions  of  the  man 
of  the  church  in  these  early  times.  Of  this  we  have  already 
spoken.  But  these  different  descriptions  have  led  to  curious  re- 
sults. Some  have  considered  what  is  said  of  the  creation  of  man, 
namely,  "  male  and  female  created  he  them,"  to  mean  that  Adam 
was  originally  distinguished  by  both  sexes ;  and  this  was  thought 
to  derive  confirmation  from  the  peculiar  circumstance  of  Eve's 
creation,  afterwards  related.  Others  have  conjectured,  that  man 
and  woman  were,  indeed,  created  upon  the  sixth  day,  but  by  some 
means  fastened  sideways  to  each  other,  so  that  she  was  as  a  rib  to 
him ;  and  that  her  separation  from  him  during  a  deep  sleep,  with 
her  subsequent  presentation  to  him  as  a  separate  individual,  are 
what  are  meant  by  taking  from  him  a  rib,  and  making  it  into  a 
woman.  (Cruden,  Art.  Woman.)  All  this  is  curious  enough,  and 
doubtless,  the  literal  sense  will  admit  of  these  and  other  equally 
ridiculous  conjectures,  which,  surely,  are  sufficient  to  suggest  the 
duty  of  taking  other  grounds  from  which  to  view  these  narratives. 

It  is  indeed  popular  to  consider  the  statement  as  "  wise,  benign, 
and  simple ; "  and  with  a  view  to  the  maintenance  of  its  literal 
character,  it  is  asked  whether  the  "  imagination  can  frame  a  m«de 


108  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

of  origin,  so  well  adapted  to  endear  her  to  her  conjugate,  as  that 
the  creative  power  should  form  her  out  of  his  actual  bodily  sub- 
stance." (Dr.  Pye  Smith,  Scrip.  Geo.,  Sec.  Ed.  p.  285.)  We 
could  have  understood  this  argument,  whatever  we  might  have 
thought  of  it,  if  it  had  been  employed  in  reference  to  the  first  child, 
but  what  it  has  to  do  with  the  first  conjugate,  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
jecture. Such  a  method  of  defending  the  history,  suggests  the 
idea  of  Adam  being  the  mother  of  Eve  rather  than  her  husband ! 
But  if  this  mode  of  origination  were  really  intended  to  supply  the 
motive  for  endearment,  which  is  assumed,  what  has  become  of  it  ? 
When  was  it  lost  ?  Why  has  it  not  been  perpetuated  ?  How  has 
it  happened  that  such  myriads  of  attachments  are  formed  and  con- 
tinued, irrespective  of  such  a  motive  to  their  existence?  It  is 
gone,  and  whensoever  the  statement  is  adverted  to,  there  is  felt 
more  of  the  buoyancy  of  a  smile,  than  the  solemnity  of  belief. 
The  supposed  argument  has  no  foundation  in  truth.  The  question, 
however,  is  not  whether  the  imagination  can  form  a  more  suitable 
idea  of  the  origination  of  woman,  but  whether  that  which  is  com- 
monly understood  to  be  the  description  of  it,  is  really  so.  We  may 
fail  in  a  conjecture  of  this  sort,  but  that  would  not  prove  the  literal 
sense  of  such  a  description  true,  and  therefore,  the  narrative  re- 
mains just  where  it  was.    It  must  be  judged  of  from  other  grounds. 

We  have  traced  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  Adamic  church, 
into  the  full  enjoyment  of  Eden,  with  all  its  blessings.  We  have 
seen  that  that  garden,  and  those  felicities,  consisted  in  the  religious 
intelligence,  high  principles,  sound  virtue,  and  distinguished  char- 
acter of  that  people.  We  have  ascertained  that  they  received  in- 
strnctions  in  duty  from  their  Maker,  and  there  can  be  no  reason- 
able doubt  but  what  they  were,  for  a  time,  carefully  and  happily 
obeyed.  How  long  the  people  continued  in  their  integrity  there  is 
no  record.  We  are  only  informed  of  the  fact  and  not  of  its  dura- 
tion. It  is  highly  probable  that  it  might  have  been  maintained  for 
several  generations :  but  this  is  a  matter  with  which  we  have  not 
to  deal :  we  find  that  in  process  of  time,  while  they  were  yet  in  the 
garden,  the  discovery  was  made  that  it  was  not  good  for  the  man 
to  be  alone. 

Now,  we  hold  that  this  cannot  be  reasonably  construed  to  mean, 
that  he  was  the  only  existing  human  individual.  If  the  literal 
sense  is  to  be  received  as  evidence,  the  male  and  female  are  of  the 
same  age,  and  Adam  is  their  generic  name.  (Gen.  v.  2.)  The 
woman  is  distinctly  declared  to  have  been  created  in  the  same  day 


TTlE    GERM    OF    THE    FALL.  109 

as  the  man,  (Gon.  i.  27  ;)  nor  is  there  any  thing  in  the  statement 
to  preclude  the  idea,  that  it  was  at  the  same  moment.  Moreover, 
n.  command  was  given  to  them  to  "he  fruitful  and  multiply,  and 
replenish  the  earth,  he/ore  they  wtre  placed  in  the  garden  ; "  (Gen. 
i.  28 ;)  it  is  therefore  plain,  that  Adam  could  not  have  been  there 
alone,  in  the  sense  commonly  understood  by  that  term.  Besides, 
she  knew  the  command  of  God  concerning  the  forbidden  tree ; 
(Gen.  iii.  2,  3  ;)  there  is  no  intimation  of  Adam  having  communi- 
cated it  to  her ;  and  therefore,  it  is  to  be  infen-ed,  that  she  was 
present  at  its  delivery,  which  was  before  the  time  he  is  stated  to 
have  been  alone :  and  which,  therefore,  requires  that  this  expres- 
sion should  not  be  understood  to  mean,  that  there  was  no  woman 
then  in  existence.  That  statement  is  intended  to  furnish  us  with 
information,  relating  to  the  internal  condition  of  a  posterity  of  the 
most  ancient  church.  It  is  an  intimation  concerning  their  decline 
from  innocence  and  purity ;  in  the  record,  that  a  period  had  arrived 
in  that  remote  dispensation,  when  it  was  not  good  for  man  to  be 
alone,  we  have  presented  to  us  the  germ  of  that  catastrophe,  called 
the  Fall.  That  circumstance  was  not  a  sudden  calamity,  it  was 
the  result  of  successive  downward  steps.  They  who  had  been 
gradually  raised  into  the  possession  of  every  blessing,  and  so 
gifted  with  experimental  evidences  of  their  value,  would  not  be 
instantaneously  precipitated  into  flagrant  guilt :  that  catastrophe 
was  small  in  its  beginning,  and  therefore,  it  is  delicately  spoken 
of,  as  not  being  good  to  be  alone.  It  is  expressive  of  an  incipient 
disinclination  to  remain  under  the  exclusive  guidance  of  God. 
That  is  what  the  Scriptures  treat  of,  when  they  speak  of  man 
being  alone.  They  who  submit  themselves  wholly  to  the  divine 
guidance  are  said  to  be  alone,  because  they  are  governed  solely 
by  the  Lord.  Hence  Balaam's  prediction  concerning  some  future 
happy  state  of  Israel  was,  "Lo,  the  people  shall  dwell  alone." 
(Num.  xxiii.  9.)  Moses,  also,  in  speaking  of  a  similar  circum- 
stance, said,  "  Israel  shall  dwell  in  safety  alone."  (Deut.  xxxiii. 
28.)  The  prophet  likewise  said,  "Arise,  get  you  up  unto  the 
wealthy  nation,  that  dwelleth  without  care,  saith  the  Lord  which 
have  neither  gates  nor  bars,  which  dwell  alone."  (Jer.  xlix.  31.) 
Now  the  Adamic  people,  during  the  period  of  their  integrity,  had 
dwelt  in  "  safety  alone."  They  had  been  led,  and  influenced 
solely  by  the  Lord :  but  with  some  of  their  posterity  there  arose 
an  inclination  to  selfhood  —  a  desire  to  possess  an  individuality 
apart  from  the  Lord.  This  was  necessarily  attended  by  the  Qxpa- 
10 


110  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

rience  of  influences  from  two  different  sources  ;  tltose  which  come 
from  the  Lord,  and  those  which  spring-  from  the  selfhood  of  n)an : 
and  so  they  clearly  prove  that  a  cessation  had  been  put  to  the 
nngle  leading  of  the  Lord.  This  was  the  state  which  he  beheld, 
and  said  of  it,  "  It  is  not  g-ood  that  man  should  be  alone."  It  is 
not  a  sentence  expressing  deficiency  in  God's  creation,  but  a  reve- 
lation to  ns,  tiiat  men  had  then  began  to  pervert  its  excellence. 
They  desired  not  to  be  alone,  and  it  was  permitted,  because,  to 
have  prevented  it,  would  have  required  an  interference  with  that 
liberty  of  man,  which  God  holds  inviolable  in  order  to  preserve 
him  responsible. 

But  although,  for  this  reason,  God  allowed  them  to  descend  into 
such  a  state,  he  did  not  abandon  them.  He  is  ever  merciful,  and 
always  grants  what  the  state  requires.  Hence,  when  Adam  ceased 
to  be  content  under  his  exclusive  influence,  be  said,  "  I  ^vill  make 
a  help,  meet  for  him,"  which  is  afterwards  described  to  have  been 
"  a  woman : "  because  she  represented  the  selfhood  to  which  he 
had  inclined,  and  which  had  now  become  dear  to  him. 

This  selfliood  may  be  described  as  that  individuality,  or  proper- 
self,*  which  man  as  a  finite  creature,  necessarily  possesses.  It 
belongs  to  his  highest  nature,  and  is  inseparable  from  every  other 
condition  of  his  existence ;  it  will  be  ^ood  or  evil,  according  to 
the  quality  of  his  character.  By  the  most  ancient  people,  during^ 
the  period  of  their  integrity,  it  was  inherited  as  a  genuine  good : 
but  it  was  not  intended  that  they  should  love  it ;  this,  however, 
they  begun  to  do,  when  they  were  not  content  to  be  alone.  This 
new  circumstance  of  man,  brought  into  activity  new  mercies  on 
the  part  of  the  Lord.  As  the  selfhood  of  the  man  at  this  time 
was  of  such  a  quality,  it  was  not  only  permitted  him  to  love  it,  but 
it  was  afterwards  provided,  that  it  should  be  a^eeable  to  order,  for 
him  to  do  so.  The  statement,  "I  will  make  a  help  meet  for 
him,"  f  was  a  promise  to  render  the  selfhood  a  resemblance  of  all 
his  other  excellences,  so  that  it  might  be  proper  for  his  attach- 
ment. Hence  this  suitable  help  was  subsequently  represented  by 
a  woman. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  between  the  time  of  this  promise  and 

*  The  Latin  vrord  proprium,  or  the  French  lepropre,  but  especially  the 
former,  best  expresses  the  idea  here  intended  to  be  conveyed.  The  above 
definition  is  adopted,  that  the  general  reader  may  not  be  embarrassed  by 
the  use  of  a  word  not  yet  Anglicised. 

f  The  original,  ezer  kenegdo^  strictly  means  a  help  as  with  him  ;  and 
this,  with  the  context,  implies  a  new  assistance  frqm  within  hini. 


THE  HELP  MEET  FOR  ADAM.  Ill 

the  period  of  its  fulfilment,  there  are  related  three  remarkable 
circumstances,  —  the  naming  of  the  creatures,  the  sleep  of  Adam, 
and  the  taking  from  him  a  rib  and  building  it  into  a  woman.  The 
creatures  were  brought  to  Adam  to  be  named,  when  he  began  to 
incline  towards  himself,  that  he  might  review  the  quality  of  all  his 
interior  affections  and  thoughts,  and  so  remember  their  origin  and 
value.  They  were  all  pure  graces  communicated  from  the  Lord, 
and  therefore,  the  man  could  not  find  among  them  that  which  is 
spoken  of  as  the  help,  meet  for  him.  Nothing  of  the  selfhood  was 
discoverable ;  his  inclination  led  him  to  look  for  it  among  them, 
but  it  was  not  found.  And  this  circumstance  beautifully  reveals 
to  us,  that  all  the  virtues  and  graces  of  a  genuine  religion  acknowl- 
edge God  to  be  their  exclusive  author,  and  eschew  every  thing 
of  mail. 

But  the  disposition  not  to  be  alone,  and  the  inclination  to  con- 
sider that  self  had  something  to  do  with  the  production  of  those 
excellences,  had  made  some  inroad  upon  men's  character,  and  the 
result,  in  process  of  time,  was,  that  they  were  led  into  great  ob- 
scurity and  darkness  of  thought  concerning  it  This  state  was 
represented  by  the  deep  sleep  that  fell  upon  Adam.  And  now  the 
time  had  come  for  the  Lord  to  realize  his  promise.  The  manner 
of  it  is  thus  described.  "  The  Lord  God  took  one  of  his  ribs,  and 
closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof.  And  the  rib  which  the  Lord 
God  had  taken  from  man,  he  built  into  a  woman  and  brought  her 
cinto  the  man."  *  Now,  if  we  remember  that  it  is  the  religious, 
and  not  the  physical  condition  of  the  man,  which  is  here  treated 
of,  the  difficulty  in  perceiving  the  true  meaning  of  these  state- 
ments will  be  considerably  lessened.  The  leading  ideas  so  ex- 
pressed, are,  that  something  was  taken  from  the  man,  raised  into  a 
new  condition,  gifted  with  new  life,  and  then  presented  to  him,  as 
an  object  that  might  help  him,  and  to  which  he  might  be  affection- 
ately attached. 

That  which  was  taken  from  him,  is  called  a  rib,  because  it 
represented  selfhood,  without  spiritual  life ;  this  is  said  to  have 
been  built  into  a  woman,  to  denote,  that  it  was  afterwards  raised 
into  the  condition  of  such  a  life  ;  it  is  then  declared,  that  she  was 

*  Gen.  ii.  21,  22.  The  common  version  is,  "  made  he  a  woman,"  but 
**  built  into  a  woman  "  is  the  more  correct  rendering  of  the  original,  and 
indeed  recognized  in  the  marginal  readings.  It  is  used  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  terms^  creating  and  making,  as  previously  employed  in  refer- 
ence to  the  development  of  man^  in  order  to  indicate  the  idea  of  raising 
up  something  that  had  fallen. 


112  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY, 

bronght  unto  the  man,  to  signify,  that  selfhood  thus  vivified  and 
introduced  to  his  affections,  would  help  to  sustain  his  character 
and  maintain  his  happiness.  In  other  words,  this  sigiiificant  his- 
tory means,  that  when  this  posterity  of  the  most  ancient  church, 
began  to  think  holy  things  might  have  arisen  with  themselves,  and 
thus  fell  into  states  of  obscurity  (deep  sleep)  about  tlieir  genuine 
origin,  the  Lord,  during  its  continuance,  mercifully  effected  the 
removal  of  that  unspiritual  selfhood  (rib),  and  endowed  it  with  a 
new  capacity,  by  which  it  was  enabled  to  know  truth,  and  do  good,. 
as  from  self,  still  always  preserving  the  acknowledgment  and 
belief  that  they  are  from  the  Lord :  under  this  aspect,  selfhood 
became  an  object  that  might  be  loved  and  cherished ;  and  iliere- 
fore,  it  is  represented  by  the  woman  brought  unto  the  man; 
whereas,  under  its  condition  as  a  rib,  it  was  separated  and  taken 
away  from  Mm.* 

These  facts  will  admit  of  some  degree  of  illustration  frcan  the 
state  of  human  selfhood  now.  This,  with  merely  natural  men,  is 
such,  that  they  regard  it  to  be  the  chief  thing  of  their  existence.f 
They  think  that  all  they  know  of  truth,  or  feel  of  good,  has  come 
frcMn  self,  and  thus  they  are  in  a  deep  sleep  as  to  the  real  truth, 
that  all  such  blessings  descend  from  the  Lord.  This  selfhood,  like 
the  hard  and  bony  structure  of  man,  is  scarcely  possessed  of  any 
spiritual  life  ;  it,  as  it  were,  suiTounds  his  heart,  and  so  it  is  repre- 
sented by  the  rib  which  is  adjacent  thereto.  Before  bis  elevation 
can  be  effected,  this  rib  must  be  taken  away.  It  must  be  raised 
into  a  new  condition,  and  be  animated  by  another  life ;  it  must 
come  to  see  that  truth  and  good  are  to  be  believed  and  done  by 
man  as  of  himself,  yet  always  under  the  acknowledgment  that 
they  are  from  the  Lord.  When  this  takes  place,  it  is  soft  and 
yielding,  fair  and  lovable,  and  hence  compared  to  a  woman,  beau- 
tiful and  innocent. 

That  bone,  which  the  rib  is  afterwards  called,  denotes  the  self- 
hood of  man,  may  be  made  evident  from  many  passages  of  the 
Scriptures.     The  Psalmist  says,  "  Make  me  to  have  joy  and  glad- 

*  "  This  part  of  the  history,  where  Eve  is  said  to  have  been  made 
from  the  rib  af  Adam,  might  have  been  a  hieroglyphical  design  of  the 
Egyptian  Philosophers."  —  Dr.  Darmin's  Temple  of  Nature.  Additimial 
Notes,  10. 

t  Rochefoucault,  Esprit,  and  their  disciple,  Mandeville,  have  con- 
tended, that  self-love  was  the  origin  of  all  those  virtues  mankind  most 
admire  ;  and  teach,  that  the  highest  pretensions  to  disinterestedness,  are 
only  the  more  artful  disgmses  of  self-love  1 


SlGNlFlCAtlON    OP   BONES   iLLtTStRATED.  113 

nerss,  that  the  bones  which  thou  hast  broken  may  rejoice  ; "  (Psalm 
li.  8 ;)  where,  the  bones  which  are  broken,  denote  the  selfhood 
dejected,  when  spiritual  happiness  may  be  obtained.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  that  the  breaking  of  the  bones  is  here  somewhat  analo- 
gous to  the  removal  of  the  rib  -^  that  separation  implying  the  idea 
of  a  breaking  —  a  breakmg,  however,  only  in  the  sense  of  humil- 
iation and  dejection,  with  a  viev/  to  subsequent  exaltation.  Again, 
it  is  written  ]  "  Hear  me,  O  Lord,  for  my  bones  are  vexed ; "  (Psalm 
vi*  2 ;)  "  all  my  bctoes  are  out  of  joint ; "  {Psalm  xxii.  14  ;)  "  my 
bones  are  consumed ', "  (Psalm  xxxi.  10 ;)  "  neither  is  there  any 
rest  in  my  bones ; "  (Psalm  xxxviii.  3 ;)  all  of  which  sentences 
imply  states  of  anxiety  and  trial,  which  the  selfhood  was  under- 
going. But  when  this  selfhood  is  made  somewhat  alive,  by  an 
infusion  of  the  Divine  spirit,  it  is  said,  "  all  my  bones  shall  say, 
Lord,  who  is  like  unto  thee  ; "  (Psalm  xxxv.  10  ;)  and,  for  a  similar 
reason,  it  is  promised  that  "  your  bones  shall  flourish  like  an  herb.'* 
(Isaiah  Ixvi.  14.)  Passages  of  this  nature  could  be  extensively 
increased  ;  they  not  only  show  that  the  term  bones,  was  employed 
by  the  ancients  in  a  figurative  sense,  but  they  also  show  that  figure 
to  be  the  selfhood  of  man,  from  the  intelligibility  which  the  sen- 
tences acquire  on  the  application  of  that  idea  to  the  word. 

The  vivified  bones,  spoken  of  in  the  two  passages  last  ad- 
duced, are  not  called  woman,  as  in  the  case  of  the  animation 
given  to  Adam's  rib,  because  the  quality  of  both  the  selfhood 
and  vivification  treated  of,  is  of  a  different  nature :  they  relate 
to  what  is  spiritual,  that  of  Adam's  to  what  is  celestial.  Never- 
theless, the  prophetical  Word  does  furnish  some  approximation 
even  to  that  idea.  Ezekiel,  relating  his  vision  of  the  valley  of 
bones,  teaches  that  the  bones  heard  the  Word  of  the  Lord, 
received  his  breath,  and  became  alive,  and  thereupon  they  are 
declared  to  be  the  whole  house  of  Israel.  (Ezekiel  xxxvii.  4, 
5,  11.)  Thus  bones  are  distinctly  said  to  have  been  raised  into  a 
whole  people,  consequently  some  of  them  into  women.  Of  course, 
this  inference  from  the  vision,  like  the  vision  itself,  will  not  be 
understood  in  a  natural  sense  ;  the  vision  was  designed  to  repre- 
sent the  impartation  of  a  new  principle  and  character  to  the  self- 
hood of  a  degenerated  people.  Viewed  under  that  aspect,  it  is 
somewhat  parallel  to  the  narrative  of  Moses  :  he  is  treating  of  a 
people  who  were  not  content  to  be  alone,  and  upon  whom  a  deep 
sleep  had  fallen ;  and  therefore,  it  was  mercifully  provided' to  remove 
the  selfhood,  which  had  attended  this  condition,  to  infuse  into  it  a 
10* 


114  JINTEDILUVIAN    HISTOKr. 

new  life,  and  give  it  a  new  form,  which  is  described  as  taking'  a 
rib  from  the  man  and  building  it  into  a  woman.  This  is  perfectly 
consistent  with  the  circumstance  of  Adam's  stating,  that  it  was 
bone  of  his  bone ;  it  was  a  new  selfhood  in  the  external  man, 
raised  out  of  that  which  the  internal  man  had  furnished  as  the 
basis.  Hence,  it  is  said  to  have  been  taken  out  of  man,  and  then 
called  woman,  because  she  represented  its  weaker  character,  but 
still  displaying  a  lovely  aspect.  In  consequence  of  the  change  of 
state,  that  was  now  induced  upon  this  posterity  of  the  Adamic 
church,  it  was  permitted  them  to  recede  from  internal  things, 
and  attach  themselves  to  what  was  pure  and  good  in  external. 
This  is  what  is  meant  by  man  "  leaving  father  and  mother  and 
cleaving  to  his  wife."  The  father  and  mother  who  might  be  left, 
Avere  those  internal  things  from  which  they  had  receded  ;  and  the 
wife  that  might  be  cleaved  to,  was  the  selfhood  to  which  celestial 
and  spiritual  influences  were  now  adjoined.  It  is  then  said,  that 
they  were  both  naked  and  not  ashamed,  to  teach,  that  the  wisdom 
which  constituted  the  man,  and  the  selfhood,  represented  by  the 
woman,  were  still  in  innocence  and  free  from  blame.  Thus  it  is  a 
figurative,  and  not  a  literal  history :  it  proceeded  from  a  peculiarity 
of  intellectual  genius,  some  remains  of  which  are  traceable  in  the 
mythology  of  after-times,  and  in  which  there  are  some  apparent 
histories  of  a  similar  kind.  Thus,  Venus  is  said  to  have  risen 
from  the  froth  of  the  sea;  Gigantes  to  have  sprung  out  of  the 
blood,  which  issued  from  the  wound  of  Coelus  their  father ;  and 
Minerva  from  tlie  brain  of  Jupiter,  whose  head  was  opened  by  the 
axe  of  Saturn.  Surely  every  one  may  see,  that  it  is  no  less  diffi- 
cult to  receive  these  relations  as  literally  true,  than  that  which 
states  a  woman  to  have  been  built  up  from  the  rib  of  a  man. 
Those  Greek  fables  were  framed  by  men,  who  possessed  merely 
the  wreck  of  that  exalted  genius,  which  had  been  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  divine  narrative ;  nevertheless,  a  sufficient 
amount  of  the  original  remained,  to  assure  us  that  its  written 
utterances  are  singularly  figurative.  It  is  plain,  that  the  ideas  and 
circumstances  of  primeval  man,  were  very  different  from  those 
which  subsequently  existed ;  and  also,  that  their  method  of  ex- 
pressing them,  must  have  been  less  literal  than  that  which  was 
afterwards  adopted.  It  is  therefore  evident,  that  we  cannot  arrive 
at  correct  notions  concerning  the  written  sentiments  of  the  former, 
by  tne  same  kind  of  judgment,  as  that  which  we  bring  to  decipher 
the  productions  of  the  latter.     What  they  wrote  was  from  internal 


THE    SERPENT   AND    ITS    DECEPTION.  115 

perception;  what  has  subsequently  been  written  has  been  from 
external  observation.  The  one  relates  to  internal  things  figura- 
tively expressed,  the  other  to  external  things  literally  described. 
By  overlooking  this  distinction,  and  judging  of  the  documents  of 
the  former,  by  a  standard  proper  to  be  applied  only  to  the  writings 
of  the*  latter,  a  meaning  has  been  claimed  for  them,  which  they 
never  could  have  been  intended  to  express.  We  are  aware,  that 
the  long  standing  of  such  a  meaning  may  raise  a  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  its  being  relinquished.  The  mind,  when  once  familiarized 
with  an  inconsistent  notion,  does  not  readily  fasten  upon  its  per- 
plexities. It  is  like  a  vicious  habit,  the  disorder  of  which  is  hid 
from  the  perpetrator  by  long  continuance.  But  the  question  is 
not,  whether  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  narratives  is  of  long 
standing,  but  whether  it  is  true  :  if  it  is  not  true,  its  antiquity  can 
have  no  claims  upon  our  respect,  and  the  sooner  it  is  abandoned, 
the  better  will  it  be  for  the  interest  of  an  enlightened  and  spiritual 
religion.  The  narrative  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  an  artless 
statement :  this  we  believe  to  be  a  mistaken  idea.  As  a  divine 
composition,  it  must  be  looked  upon  as  a  work  of  God  ;  it  cannot, 
therefore,  be  an  artless  production :  it  must  be  the  result  of  the 
most  consummate  skill,  and  so  correspond  with  every  other  work 
that  is  divine. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SERPENT  AND  ITS  DECEPTION. 

*'  Inquire  no  longer,  man  !  who  is  the  author  of  evil ;  behold  him  in 
yourself.  —  Take  away  every  thing  that  is  the  work  of  man ;  and  all 
the  rest  is  good."  —  Rousseau. 

The  subjects  treated  of,  under  the  representation  of  a  serpent 
and  its  deception,  are  of  deep  and  melancholy  interest  to  human- 
ity. Great  difficulties  have  always  been  experienced  in  the  way 
of  a  satisfactory  understanding  of  them.  The  letter  has  been 
contemplated,  and  the  spirit  overlooked.  We  shall  endeavor  to 
avoid  that  course,  and  present  the  truth  which  lies  beyond  it.  The 
meaning  is  not  that  which  at  first  appears.  We  cannot  believe 
in  the  existence  of  a  talking  serpent ;  we  do  not  think  that  God 
ever  endowed  a  reptile  with  the  capability  of  reasoning ;  nor  can 
we  conceive  that  mankind  were  seduced  from  their  propriety  by 
the  utterances  of  a  snake.  At  these  views,  prejudices  may  be 
shocked ;  we  cannot  help  it ;  reason  will  rejoice  ;  error  may  be 
alarmed,  but  truth  will  be  strengthened  and  advanced.  Truth 
will  find  her  responses  in  the  inner  sensations  of  humanity,  if  they 


116  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

are  fairly  permitted  to  unfold  themselves.  We  appeal,  with  our 
interpretation  of  the  Word,  to  the  consciousness  and  intuition  of 
rational  nature,  as  to  the  very  counterpart  of  revealed  and  spiritual 
wisdom.  There  is  such  a  phenomenon  as  feeling  a  thing  to  be 
true,  even  though  there  may  be  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  clear 
utterance  and  demonstration.  This  we  call  perception,  —  a  faculty 
superior  to  reason,  for  it  is  the  response  of  nature  and  not  the 
cogitations  of  art ;  and  there  is  a  harmony  existing  between  those 
responses  in  man,  and  a  right  exposition  of  God's  Word.  It 
requires  care  and  erudition  to  comprehend  and  grasp  an  argument 
intended  to  elaborate  a  truth,  for  those  who  are  not  disposed  for 
its  acceptance ;  but  the  honest  and  good  heart,  which  loves  truth 
for  its  own  sake,  will  perceive  it  more  clearly  in  the  proposition 
than  the  argument.  If  men  would  only  give  their  hearts  and 
consciences  fair  play,  they  would  soon  be  delivered  from  many 
of  those  fetters  which  have  so  long  bound  them  to  a  misunder- 
standing, both  of  revelation  and  themselves.  Let  us  then,  attend 
to  those  approving  impulses  which  arise,  and  strive  to  retain  the 
impressions  which  they  make  upon  our  minds,  as  we  proceed  in 
the  examination  of  the  subjects  before  us. 

In  preceding  chapters,  we  have  traced  the  progressive  develop- 
ment of  human  excellence,  and  ultimately  found  mankind  raised 
to  the  very  pinnacle  of  religious  greatness.  It  was  from  thence 
they  fell.  The  manner  of  this  calamity,  together  with  its  imme- 
diate consequences,  are  thus  detailed.  "Now  the  serpent  was 
more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the  field,  which  the  Lord  God  had 
made.  And  he  said  to  the  woman.  Yea,  hath  God  said,  ye  shall 
not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the  garden  ?  And  the  woman  said  unto 
the  serpent.  We  may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden, 
but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
God  hath  said,  ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest 
ye  die.  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman.  Ye  shall  not 
surely  die :  for  God  doth  know,  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof, 
then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing 
good  and  evil.  And  when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good 
for  food,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be 
desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did 
eat,  and  gave  also  to  her  husband,  and  he  did  eat.  And  the  eyes 
of  them  both  were  opened,  and  they  knew  that  they  were  naked. 
—  Therefore,  the  I^ord  God  sent  him  forth  from  the  garden  of 
Eden  to  till  the  gr^iid  from  whence  he  was  taken."  * 

*  Gen.  iii.  1-7,  28.   Dr.  Adam  Clarke  remarks  on  this  narrative,  "  That 


VARIOUS    PRINCIPLES    IN    MAN.  117 

To  understand  this  account  of  man's  fall,  we  must  remember, 
that  the  eminent  condition  from  which  he  descended,  had  been 
Buccessively  procured.  His  primeval  state  is  declared  to  have 
been  as  of  the  earth,  and  without  form  and  void ;  and  also,  as  of 
darkness  being  upon  the  face  of  the  deep :  thus,  that  his  original 
condition  was  the  lowest  degree  of  human  life,  and  that  it  was 
from  thence  he  was  gradually  elevated  into  the  highest  degree  of 
human  excellence.  That  low  degree  of  life,  in  which  he  origi- 
nally stood,  was  doubtless  of  a  sensual  nature,  but  not  of  an  evil 
quality:  for  evil  had  not  yet  come  into  existence.  It  was  an 
orderly  degree  of  life  proper  to  man,  it  had  the  capacity  of  eleva- 
tion latent  in  it,  and  it  is  this,  upon  which  the  higher  degrees  of 
life  had  a  foundation.  This  is  the  life  into  which  man  now  first 
comes,  though  its  quality,  in  consequence  of  the  fall,  is  more  or 
less  tainted  with  hereditary  evil.  Nevertheless,  man,  as  an  infant, 
is  the  mere  creature  of  sensation,  and  the  life  of  the  senses  is  first 
developed,  and  must  be  so,  before  the  higher  degrees  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  life  can  be  unfolded.  Thus  Adam  was  not 
constituted  by  one  principle  merely,  but  by  several.*  His  highest 
or  inmost  was  celestial,  the  next  was  spiritual,  and  after  these 

man  is  in  a  fallen  state,  the  history  of  the  world,  with  that  of  the  life  and 
miseries  of  every  human  being,  establishes  beyond  successful  contradic- 
tion. But  how,  and  by  what  agency,  was  this  brought  about  ?  Here  is  a 
great  mystery  ;  and  I  may  appeal  to  all  persons  who  have  read  the  vari- 
ous comments  that  have  been  written  on  the  Mosaic  account,  whether 
they  have  ever  yet  been  satisfied  on  this  part  of  the  subject,  though  con- 
vinced of  the  fact  itself.  Who  was  the  serpent?  of  what  kind?  In  what 
way  did  he  seduce  the  first  happy  pair  ?  These  are  questions  which 
remain  yet  to  he  answered.  The  whole  account  is  either  a  simple  narrative 
of  facts,  or  it  is  an  allegory."  With  this  opinion  we  readily  concur.  The 
Doctor,  however,  considered  it  as  a  "  narrative  of  facts,"  and,  after  the 
use  of  much  Hebrew  and  Arabic  learning,  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that 
the  serpent  was  an  ourang-outang,  and  that  the  chattering  and  babbling, 
of  which  it  is  now  capable,  are  the  remains  of  the  speech  with  which  it 
was  once  endowed,  and  of  course  the  evidences  of  the  curse.  From  this 
we  dissent.  He,  however,  was  not  quite  certain  that  this  opinion  was 
correct,  nor  do  we  wonder  at  his  doubt.  Speech  is  the  exclusive  endow- 
ment of  humanity,  and  it  is  attributed  to  the  serpent  only  in  the  way  of 
figure.  But  the  Doctor  further  says,  "if  it  is  an  allegory,  no  attempt 
should  be  made  to  explain  it."  Indeed  !  no  attempt  to  be  made  to  explain 
what  God  has  allegorically  revealed !  what  a  commentary  on  commen- 
tators and  himself. 

*  "It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  first  man  was  created  with  a  great 
variety  of  instinctive  or  inspired  knowledges." — Sir  H.  Davy. 


118  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

came  the  natural  and  sensual.  The  existence  of  these  several 
principles  in  him,  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  they  are  all,  in  some 
measure,  capable  of  being  re-developed  in  us  ;  and  also,  in  the 
circumstance,  that  they  are  more  or  less  in  activity  in  every  mind, 
which  cherishes  respect  for  truth  and  virtue.  The  internal  princi- 
ples of  human  life  called  celestial  and  spiritual,  are  superior  to 
those  more  external  principles  denominated  natural  and  sensual ; 
the  former  belong  more  to  the  things  of  heaven,  the  latter  relate 
more  to  the  things  of  the  world :  and  this  is  as  true  of  man  in  his 
primeval  state  as  it  is  of  his  condition  now :  though  then  the  exer- 
cise of  his  lower  principles  was  only  instrumental  to  the  purpose 
of  his  higher  ones  ;  but  in  after-times  this  instrumental  purpose 
became  perverted  ;  the  delights  of  the  sensual  principle  began  to 
be  cultivated,  irrespective  of  superior  ends,  and  their  perceptions 
of  spiritual  and  heavenly  things  were  successively  closed. 

This  distinction  of  principle  in  man,  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  be  known,  if  we  would  attain  to  any  clear  comprehension_of  the 
subject  before  us.  The  men  of  the  most  ancient  dispensation, 
had  not  only  the  higher  principles  of  celestial  and  spiritual  life, 
but  they  had  also  the  lower  principles  of  natural  and  sensual  life. 
So  long  as  the  people  continued  in  their  integrity,  and  maintained 
their  innocence,  so  long  all  those  principles  existed  in  their  proper 
order,  the  lower  contributing  to  the  purposes  of  the  higher ;  but 
when  man  fell  into  disobedience  and  guilt,  a  disruption  took  place 
among  them,  and  the  lower  principles  began  to  usurp  the  places 
of  the  higher,  and  thereby  to  paralyze  their  functions.  Hence  it 
is  very  easy  to  see,  that  the  quality  of  man's  sensual  nature  before 
his  fall,  was  very  different  from  that  which  it  became  after  it. 
Before  the  fall,  it  was  such  that  it  yielded  willing  obedience  to 
the  dictate  and  impulse  of  the  higher  principles  of  his  inner  life. 
It  was  as  a  servant,  ministering  to  the  attainment  of  superior 
ends,  always  acknowledging  its  subordinate  position ;  but  after 
that  catastrophe,  men  began  to  prefer  the  sensual  things  of  the 
body,  to  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  things  of  the  mind,  and  thus 
the  instrumental  became  the  principal,  so  that  the  whole  order 
and  series  of  life,  which  had  been  successively  developed,  were 
changed.  This  is  the  state  of  man  now ;  sensual  things  are 
uppermost  with  him,  and  the  design  of  religion,  its  influences,  and 
leadings,  is  to  regain  the  order  which  has  been  lost. 

The  senses  are  but  inlets  for  certain  knowledges  —  doors, 
through  which  information  concerning  the  outer  things  of  the 


SENSUAL  PRINCIPLE  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  THE  FALL.  119 

world  pass  into  the  mind.  The  elevation  and  enlargement  of  the 
mind,  are  ends,  for  the  accomplishment  of  which,  the  senses  are 
among  the  appointed  means.  Some  persons  hear,  see,  and  taste, 
merely  for  the  sake  of  hearing,  seeing,  and  tasting ;  they  live  a  long 
life,  with  a  very  limited  extent  of  intellectual  acquirements,  because 
they  have  scarcely  proposed  to  themselves  any  higher  object  than 
the  gratification  of  their  senses.  Whereas,  they  who  have  em- 
ployed their  sensual  powers  as  the  ministers  to  higher  uses,  and 
with  a  view  to  produce  superior  ends,  are  found  to  possess  enlarged 
and  comprehensive  knowledges  of  men  and  things.  These  circum- 
stances may,  in  some  faint  degree,  enable  us  to  form  an  idea  of 
the  diflference,  between  the  quality  of  the  sensual  principle  of  man 
before,  and  after  his  fall.  But  the  distinction  is  admissive  of  illus- 
tration and  explanation  by  other  facts  known  to  general  experience. 
For  instance,  when  we  are  earnestly  endeavoring  to  understand 
the  meaning  of  a  speaker,  the  words  give  us  but  little  concern : 
we  hear  the  words,  indeed,  and  yet  they  affect  the  sense  of  hear- 
ing very  little,  because  of  the  interest  we  are  taking  to  collect  the 
sense :  nor  is  this  all,  for  if  we  think  a  little  more  interiorly,  and 
pay  attention  to  what  is  really  transpiring  in  our  mind,  it  will 
occasionally  be  found,  that  we  do  not  always  gather  the  meaning 
as  intellectual  sentiments,  in  consequence  of  our  chief  aim  being 
to  catch  and  comprehend  the  feeling  which  urges  the  discourse. 
Some  persons  hear  the  words,  but  do  not  grasp  the  sentiment,  they 
say  the  language  was  good  and  the  discourse  powerful,  but  can 
scarcely  give  an  idea  of  what  it  was  about ;  with  such,  the  sensu- 
ality of  hearing  is  the  chief.  Others  hear  the  words,  but  listen  to 
them  only  as  the  instruments  for  communicating  the  ideas  of  the 
speaker ;  with  them  the  activity  of  the  sensual  principle  is  directed 
to  a  higher  use  :  but  with  others,  the  sense  is  but  imperfectly  col- 
lected, in  consequence  of  the  attention  being  so  deeply  engaged 
to  comprehend  the  feeling  of  the  utterer :  with  such  the  sensual 
principle  is  directed  to  a  nobler  end.  This  was  a  use,  which  the 
men 'of  the  purest  times  made  of  their  sensual  principle,  while  the 
former  are  characteristics  which  it  has  engendered  in  later  periods. 
We  call  attention  to  these  distinctions,  because  the  Scriptures 
have  presented  both  conditions  of  the  sensual  principle  to  us,  under 
the  emblem  of  a  serpent.  When  the  sensual  principle  is  circum- 
spect, and  employed  as  a  means  for  the  acquisition  of  useful 
knowledge,  then  is  fulfilled  the  divine  injunction,  "  be  ye  wise  as 
serpents,  (Matt.  x.  16 ;)  but  when  it  is  used  merely  for  the  purpose 


120  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

of  securing  sensual  gratification,  then  it  is  declared  to  be  the  "  ser- 
pent more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the  field."     (Gen.  iii.  1.) 

There  are  few  facts  better  attested  by  historical  evidence,  than 
that  the  serpent  has,  by  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  been  regarded 
and  employed  symbolically.  It  is  conspicuous  in  their  history,  it 
stands  out  in  their  fables,  and  it  is  visible  in  their  religion.  Herod- 
otus informs  us  that  it  was  sacred  at  Thebes ;  (Euterpe.  Ixxiv ;) 
and  the  hieroglyphics  which  have  been  brought  to  light  in  our  own 
times,  abundantly  show  that  it  must  have  been  used  in  an  emble- 
matical way,  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Bryant,  also,  asserts, 
that  in  the  first  ages,  the  serpent  was  extensively  introduced  into 
all  the  mysteries  that  were  celebrated ;  and  that,  wheresoever  the 
Ammonians  founded  any  places  of  worship,  there  was  generally 
some  story  of  a  serpent.  ,  There  was  a  legend  about  it  at  Thebes, 
at  Colchis,  and  Delphi.  Even  the  Athenians  had  a  tradition  that 
the  chief  guardian  of  their  Acropolis  was  a  serpent.*  It  is  some- 
times presented  under  a  variety  of  ideal  forms,  nor  is  it  uncommon 
to  find  it  represented  with  a  human  head.f  It  is  impossible,  ration- 
ally to  contemplate  these  circumstances,  and  doubt  that  the  ser- 
pent sustained  some  symbolical  character.  The  facts  at  once  sug- 
gest, that  such  must  have  been  the  design  of  the  serpent,  said  to 
have  been  more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the  field :  and  here  we 
raise  the  question,  of  what  was  it  significant  ? 

The  various  nations,  by  whom  it  was  symbolically  used,  do  not 
appear  to  have  viewed  it  under  the  same  aspect.  Uniformity  of 
idea  in  this  respect,  would  not  long  continue,  after  that  knowledge 
had  perished,  which  originally  directed  its  selection  for  a  symboli- 
cal purpose,  and  when  men  were  left,  with  no  other  guide  than  a 
fallen  fancy,  and  no  sounder  principle  than  caprice,  to  conduct 
them  in  the  profound  matters  of  religion  and  its  objects.  The  ser- 
pent is  said  to  have  been  worshipped,  from  the  circumstance  of  its 
having  been  mentioned  and  set  apart,  as  one  of  the  objects  asso- 
ciated with  the  religion  of  Egypt.  This  was  the  opinion  of  Euse- 
bius  and  others ;  and  it  might  have  been  the  case  in  the  most  cor- 
rupted periods  of  Egyptian  learning.  That  is,  it  might  then  have 
become  the  symbol  of  something  to  be  worshipped ;  but,  although 
it  was  always  a  symbol,  that  was  not  always  the  object  of  it.  The 
serpent  came  to  be  spoken  of  as  sacred,  only  from  the  circumstance 

*  Bryant  on  Serpent  Worship.    Vol.  1,  p.  476,  &c. 

t  See  Montfaucon's  Antiq.  by  Humphreys.  Chimsera  is  said  to  have 
been  a  black-eyed  nymph  in  her  upper  part,  but  downwards  a  frightful 
serpent.  —  Hesiod's  TJieogony. 


THE    SERPENT    AS    A    SYMBOL.  121 

of  its  having  been  associated  with  religious  sentiments ;  it  was  not 
at  first  set  apart  to  be  worshipped,  nor  for  any  good  it  could  be- 
stow, but  rather  to  be  dreaded  for  the  mischiefs  it  might  originate. 
It  was  the  symbol  of  something  that  might,  if  not  guarded  against, 
be  disastrous  to  mankind.  Hence  we  find  it  so  frequently  referred 
to  in  the  legends  of  remote  antiquity,  as  having  exercised  an  un- 
favorable influence  upon  the  destinies  of  the  people.  Every  one 
knows  that  the  figure  of  a  serpent  biting  its  tail  is  very  ancient ; 
it  is  conmionly  regarded  as  the  emblem  of  eternity :  but  is  it  not 
rather  a  representative  of  evil  punishing  itself?  In  Phoenician 
Mythology,  we  read  of  a  serpent  surrounding  an  egg,  plainly  im- 
plying the  danger  of  sensuality,  with  which  life  is  beset  from  its 
very  beginning.  Among  that  of  the  Greeks,  we  are  informed  of 
the  hair  ^f  Medusa  being  transformed  into  serpents,  because  she 
had  violated  the  sanctity  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva.  The  serpents 
are  evidently  employed  to  represent  the  evil  she  had  perpetrated. 
The  serpent,  Python,  which  is  fabled  to  have  sprung'  out  of  the 
mud  left  by  the  deluge  of  Deucalion,  was  an  emblem  of  the  evil 
occasioned  to  Greece  by  the  overwhelmning  of  Thessaly.  The 
serpents  which  the  infant  Hercules  strangled  in  his  cradle,  were, 
unquestionably,  a  representation  of  innocence  conquering  the 
blandishments  of  sensuality  ;  and  the  Hydra,  which  he  afterwards 
overthrew,  was  a  representation  of  those  evils  which  the  labors  of 
energy  and  fortitude  may  overcome.  So  also,  the  Caduceus,  which 
was  a  rod  entwined  by  serpents,  and  with  which  Mercury  is  said 
to  have  conducted  souls  to  the  infernal  regions,  plainly  symbolized 
the  evils  which  cling  to  power  and  so  conduce  to  misery.  Escula- 
pius,  the  medical  attendant  on  the  Argonauts,  is  always  represented 
with  a  serpent  entwined  about  his  staflT,  to  denote,  the  power  of 
the  physician  over  the  diseases  of  humanity.  Many  other  instances 
of  the  emblematical  use  of  the  serpent,  could  be  easily  collected  from 
the  writings  of  the  ancients,  but  these  are  suflicient  for  our  pur- 
pose :  they  plainly  show,  that  the  emblem  of  that,  whereby  man 
fell,  was  preserved  among  mankind,  for  a  long  time  after  the 
reminiscence  of  its  definite  signification  had  passed  away.  They 
retained  the  emblem,  with  some  general  idea  of  its  meaning,  but 
had  lost  sight  of  its  precise  signification.  For  this  we  must  go  to 
analogy  and  the  Scriptures.  These  are  the  only  sources,  whence 
satisfactory  information  can  be  drawn,  and  these  will  show  us  that 
the  serpent  was  the  sensual  principle  of  man.* 

*  The  Rev.  J.  Hewlett,  B.  D.,  in  his  "  Annotations,"  observes;  •'  St. 
11 


122  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTOHY. 

"  Of  all  the  objects  of  the  animal  kingdom,  the  reptile  tribe  is 
the  lowest,  of  which  serpents  of  various  kinds  and  species  are  the 
most  conspicuous.  Of  all  the  degrees  of  man's  life,  the  sensual 
and  corporeal  are  the  lowest ;  because  they  are  nearest  to  the  earth 
and  are  actuated  by  merely  earthly  appetites,  influences,  and  causes. 
These  lowest  degrees  in  man's  nature  partake  the  least  of  what  is 
truly  human  in  man,  and  the  serpent,  their  corresponding  emblem, 
is  of  all  animals  the  most  remote  from  the  human  form.  As  the 
serpent  crawls  upon  the  earth,  so  the  sensual  principle  in  man  is 
nearest  akin  to  the  earth,  which,  if  not  elevated  by  the  rational  and 
spiritual  principles  of  his  nature,  may  be  said  to  crawl  upon  the 
earth  in  like  manner.  As  sensual  things  have  a  tendency  to  fasci- 
nate and  charm  the  mind,  because  sensual  delights  are  more  vividly 
experienced  than  any  others,  so  certain  kinds  of  serpents,  espe- 
cially the  more  malignant,  are  said,  by  naturalists,  to  fascinate  and 
charm  their  prey  before  they  devour  it."  *  The  general  analogies, 
so  satisfactorily  presented  in  this  extract,  assist  us  in  perceiving 
certain  general  resemblances  between  the  serpent  and  the  sensual 
principle  of  man. 

Now  the  serpent  f  which  was  in  Eden,  we  believe  to  have  been 
the  sensual  principle,  that  was  connected  with  Adam's  character. 
For  a  time,  there  was  with  him  a  realization  of  the  Lord's  injunc- 
tion, to  be  "wise  as  serpents."  The  sensual  principle,  at  first, 
was  right  and  orderly,  because  it  stood  in  its  proper  relation  to  the 

Paul,  in  addressing  himself  to  the  Corinthians,  says,  *  I  fear,  lest,  as  the 
serpent  beguiled  Eve,  through  his  subtlety,  so  your  minds  should  be  cor- 
rupted from  the  simplicity  which  is  in  Christ.'  Now  the  city  of  Corinth 
was  notorious,  even  to  a  proverb,  for  its  devotion  to  pleasure,  for  the 
grossest  sensuality  and  voluptuousness ;  and  as  the  holy  apostle  draws  a 
parallel  between  them  and  the  temptation  which  seduced  Eve,  it  may  be 
supposed  that  he  favors  the  allegorical  interpretation  of  those  who 
consider  the  serpent  as  the  well-known  emblem,  or  symbol,  of  sensual 
pleasure." 

*  A  writer  under  the  signature  of  "Minus,"  in  the  "Intellectual  Re- 
pository," for  1843,  p.  53. 

f  The  Hebrew  word  here  translated  serpent,  is  Nachash.  Much  learn- 
ing has  been  bestowed  upon  this  term,  with  the  purpose  of  determining 
who  or  what  the  serpent  was,  but  without  any  very  satisfactory  results. 
The  principal  reason  is,  because  a  sense  has  been  sought  for  it  which  it 
was  never  intended  to  express.  Forbes,  in  his  *'  Oriental  Memoirs,"  says, 
"  A  great  nuisance  at  Benares  is,  the  number  of  Yogees,  Senassees,  and 
Nanghas,  or  religious  mendicants,  who  go  about  entirely  naked :  we  oc- 
casionally meet  with  a  few  of  these  people  at  other  places,  but  here  they 
abound."    (Vol.  iv.  p.  86.) 


THE  WISDOBI  AND  SUBTLETY  OF  THE  SERPENT.    123 

dictates  of  his  higher  nature.  It  was  among  the  objects,  upon 
which  the  Divine  approbation  had  been  pronounced :  for  the  Lor4 
declared  the  creeping  things  to  be  "good,"  yea,  "very  go«j|.'* 
This  then,  was  a  characteristic  of  the  serpent,  or,  more  literally, 
of  the  sensual  principle  of  Adam,  as  declared  of  it  by  the  Lord 
himself. 

So  long  as  it  was  employed  instrumentally,  to  promote  the  ends 
of  spiritual  use  and  order,  so  long  it  was  wise,  but  when  it  was 
directed  principally,  to  secure  the  gratifications  of  corporeal  nature, 
it  became  most  subtle.  The  loisdom  of  the  serpent  is  the  circum- 
spection and  prudence  of  the  sensual  principle  of  man ;  the  subtlety 
of  the  serpent  is  its  artifice  and  deception.  In  neither  case  was  a 
literal  serpent  meant.  The  very  circumstances  of  the  narrative 
having  given  to  it  speaking  and  reasoning  powers,  ought  to  have 
preserved  mankind  from  the  belief  of  such  a  crudity.  If  it  once 
could  speak,  when  and  how  did  it  lose  the  power  ?  The  Scriptures 
furnish  no  answer.  Theology  has  suggested,  that  it  was  the  devil 
and  not  the  serpent  who  spoke.  But  the  Scriptures  do  not  say  so. 
They  express  no  idea  about  the  then  existence  of 'the  devil :  *  how 
could  he  have  come  into  being  before  evil  had  been  perpetrated  ? 
The  Scriptures  most  distinctly  assert  that  it  was  the  serpent  which 
spoke :  nor  is  there,  throughout  the  whole  narrative,  the  slightest 
intimation  that  it  was  any  other  being.  The  faculty  of  speech  is 
attributed  to  it,  because  it  is  significant  of  the  sensual  principle  of 
man ;  which  is,  indeed,  a  speaking  principle,  uttering  wisdom 
when  it  is  used  as  the  instrument  of  spiritual  order,  but  discours- 
ing artifice  when  separated  therefrom  and  directed  to  the  world. 

Man  is  formed,  not  by  one  principle  only,  but  by  many  ;  he  has 
not  lost  any  of  them  by  the  fall :  that  calamity  destroyed  their 

*  '*  This  question  may  be  asked :  If  such  be  the  case,  how  came  the 
opinion  so  general  respecting  fallen  angels,  and  whence  was  it  derived  ? 
There  can  be  no  doubt  respecting  the  source  whence  it  was  obtained.  The 
first  notion  of  the  existence  of  a  fallen  angel  is  found  in  the  Zendavesta. 
The  later  Jews  became  conversant  with  the  Persian  mythology,  and  in- 
troduced this,  with  various  other  notions,  into  their  writings,  and  it  seems 
to  have  been  adopted  by  the  early  Christians,  without  any  inquiry  into 
the  scriptural  authority  upon  which  it  rested.  Our  immortal  country- 
man, Milton,  by  clothing  this  fiction  of  the  Persian  mythology,  in  all  the 
beauty  and  attractions  of  poetry,  has  so  recommended  it  to  our  imagina- 
tion, that  we  almost  receive  it  as  of  divine  authority;  '  and  we  feel  a 
reluctance  to  be  convinced  that  all  his  splendid  fabric  is  based  on  false- 
hood."—  John  Lamb,  D.  D.  Hebrew  Characters  derived  from  Iliero- 
glyphics.    Pp.  118,  119.    Sec.  ed. 


124  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

quality,  and  perverted  the  order  of  their  existence,  but  it  obliterated 
none.  Hence  humanity,  in  its  primitive  perfection,  must  have  had 
principles  distinguished  by  higher  and  lower  degrees  of  excellence, 
the  interior  being  allied  to  the  things  of  spirituality  and  heaven, 
and  the  exterior  to  the  objects  of  corporiety  and  earth. 

Now,  one  of  the  distinguished  characteristics  of  the  Adamic 
people  was,  their  freedom.  When  placed  in  the  garden,  they  had 
a  choice  given  to  them,  to  obey,  or  transgress,  the  divine  com- 
mands. It  was  said  to  them,  "  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou 
mayest  freely  eat,  but  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil 
thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it."  This  freedom  must  have  been  very  perfect, 
because  their  condition  is  pronounced  to  have  been  very  good. 
From  this  state  they  must  have  known  the  truth,  and  it  is  a  law, 
that  they  who  know  the  truth,  "  the  truth  shall  make  them  free." 
(John  viii.  32.)  Moreover,  the  spirit  of  God  was  present  with 
them,  and  the  apostle  has  declared,  that  "  where  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  is,  there  is  liberty."  (2  Cor.  iii.  17.)  They  had  been  raised 
to  the  summit  of  their  excellence,  by  the  use  of  freedom  in  that 
direction.  But  this  did  not  compel  them  to  remain  there.  They 
did  not  forfeit  their  freedom  by  the  attainment  of  their  superiority : 
it  was  enlarged  and  perfected  as  they  ascended. 

While  the  men  of  the  most  ancient  times,  employed  this  free- 
dom in  co-operating  with  the  Lord  to  develop  the  interior  re- 
sources of  their  orderly  humanity,  it  was  exercised  in  a  wise  and 
right  direction ;  but  by  that  very  freedom  they  could  again  descend 
the  mountain  they  had  climbed :  yet  to  do  so  would  necessarily  be 
attended  by  a  curtailment  of  their  freedom.  "  He  who  doeth  sin 
is  the  servant  of  sin."  (John  viii.  34.)  Freedom  is  rightly  used, 
when  it  causes  all  the  principles  of  men  to  look  inwards  and  on- 
wards to  the  attainment  of  superior  states  :  but  it  is  abused,  when 
it  permits  them  to  look  outAvards  and  backwards  to  the  delights 
supplied  by  inferior  things. 

Now  the  tendency  of  man's  lower  sentiments  and  disposition  is 
towards  the  world,  while  the  impulses  of  his  spiritual  nature  and 
inclination  are  towards  heaven :  and,  so  long  as  the  former  remain 
under  the  influences  of  the  latter,  so  long  order  is  preserved,  and 
all  their  respective  relationships  are  good :  but  who  does  not  know, 
that  the  inferior  principles  strive  to  relax  the  vigilance  of  the  supe- 
rior ?  Who  has  not  occasionally  experienced  the  lower  principles 
of  their  nature,  proposing  doubts,  as  to  the  reality  of  tliose  objects, 
which  the  higher  principles  believed  and  sought  after  ?    Who  has 


THE    SENSUAL   PRINCIPLE.  125 

not  sometimes  permitted  their  judgment  to  be  formed  only  by  the 
testimony  of  the  eye,  or  the  evidence  of  some  other  sense,  and 
yielded  belief  only  to  those  things  which  they  could  see  and  touch, 
and  cherished  doubts  about  those  interior  subjects  which  are  to  be 
known  only  to  the  inner  convictions,  by  means  of  the  mental  sight 
and  higher  feelmgs  of  our  nature  ?  These  are  no  uncommon  cir- 
cumstances. They  come  home  to  the  general  experiences  of  men : 
and  surely,  it  is  easy  to  see,  when  our  sensual  nature  is  endeavor- 
ing to  separate  itself  from  the  light  and  guidance  of  our  spiritual 
nature,  that  the  serpent  is  attempting  to  deceive  us.  The  sensual 
principle  endeavors  to  persuade  us,  that  the  objects  of  the  outer 
senses  are  more  real  than  the  things  of  intellectual  perception ; 
and  thus,  it  would  induce  us  to  prefer  the  pleasures  of  the  world 
to  the  excellences  of  heaven.  And  do  we  not,  in  this  fact,  even 
now,  experience  the  temptation  of  the  serpent  ?  Does  it  not  make 
an  effort  to  weaken  our  regard  for  God's  commandments,  and  is  it 
not  frequently  insinuating,  that  the  gratification  of  the  passions  of 
our  lower  nature  is  preferable  to  the  delights  anticipated  by  our 
higher  principles  ?  Is  not  this  fact  the  common  experience  of 
men,  and  does  it  not  suggest  a  reasonable  exposition  of  the  serpent, 
saying  "  Ye  shall  not  surely  die  ?  "  The  serpent  of  natural  his- 
tory cannot  say  this,  but  the  sensual  principle  of  man  practically 
does  so,  whenever  it  begins  to  act  independently  of  higher  pow- 
ers ;  and  this,  we  conceive  to  have  been  the  very  serpent,  by  which 
Adam  was  seduced  from  his  propriety,  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  was  led  into  transgression ! 

The  serpent  is  said  to  have  been  "  more  subtle  than  any  beast 
of  the  field,"  not  to  teach  that  it  has  any  remarkable  sagacity 
beyond  what  is  common  to  the  instinct  of  animated  nature,  for  no 
such  fact  is  known  to  naturalists  ;  but  this  is  said  of  it,  to  inform 
us,  that  the  sensual  principle  is  the  lowest,  and  the  least  to  be 
depended  on,  of  all  the  other  affections  belonging  to  our  external 
man:  it  is  requisite  to  watch  over  it  by  the  higher  powers  of  our 
minds,  and  to  direct  it  by  superior  principles,  or  it  will  be  sure  to 
lead  us  into  a  forgetfulness  of  our  highest  duty,  and  finally  plunge 
us  into  disobedience.  The  reason  is,  because  it  dwells  as  it  were 
upon  the  outer  extremes  of  hUman  life.  It  thus  readily  receives 
impressions  from  the  external  world,  by  which  the  memory  is  fur- 
nished with  information,  which  it  can  wield  with  a  persuasive  art 
in  favor  of  the  delights  and  pursuits  of  worldly  things.  It  reasons 
with  shrewdness  and  dexterity,  because  its  thoughts  are  so  near  the 


126  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

tongue :  it  thinks  that  intelligence  consists  in  speaking  from  the 
memory,  concerning  things  collected  from  without,  and  views  the 
understanding  of  things,  implanted  by  the  Lord,  with  doubt  and 
disrespect. 

There  is  nothing  so  deceptive  as  the  senses.  If  we  trust  to 
them  only  for  information,  our  judgment  and  conclusions  must  be 
full  of  error.  There  is  a  proverb,  that  "  seeing  is  believing ; "  but 
it  is  not  always  so.  We  have  to  correct  the  impression  which  we 
receive  from  without,  by  the  higher  faculties  of  our  minds,  in 
order  to  reach  the  truth.  How  various  are  the  fallacies  of  vision ! 
The  sun  appears  but  a  small  body,  to  rise  and  set  upon  the  earth, 
which  seems  immovable.  The  stars,  also,  appear  to  be  fixed  in 
the  same  extended  plane,  and  moving  from  east  to  west  in  the  vast 
expanse  ;  but  these  things  are  not  really  so  ;  they  are  mere  falla- 
cies of  the  sight,  which  we  correct  by  another  and  superior  power ! 
If  the  sensual  principle  is  not  so  corrected,  it  remains  in  fallacies, 
and  it  will  be  found  to  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  the  senses  for 
evidences,  that  the  appearance  is  the  reality.  The  subtlety  of  the 
serpent  consists  in  the  fallacies,  which  sensuality  induces.  AU 
its  reasonings  are  grounded  in  worldly  things :  and  by  these,  it 
would  lead  us  to  believe,  that  there  is  nothing  worthy  our  attention 
or  attachment,  but  what  we  can  see  and  feel,  or  taste :  and  there 
is  a  force  and  plausibility  about  such  reasonings,  which  fit  them 
for  the  purposes  of  seduction. 

Any  one,  capable  of  seeing  how  the  higher  powers  of  the  mind 
correct  the  fallacious  impressions,  which  outward  and  worldly 
things  make  upon  the  lower  senses,  will  readily  perceive  how  it 
was,  that  all  the  faculties  and  powers  of  Adam,  during  his  integ- 
rity, existed  in  harmony  and  order.  For  a  time,  his  sensual  princi- 
ple was  as  wise  as  a  serpent,  because  it  admitted  into  it  the  cor- 
recting light  of  spirituality  and  intelligence.  Still  it  was  not 
removed  from  the  influences  of  the  world  ;  and  he  possessed  both 
the  power  and  freedom,  if  he  chose  to  incur  the  responsibility,  of 
listening  to  its  suggestions.  This,  according  to  the  history  of  the 
temptation,  was  actually  done ;  thereby  the  light,  by  which  his 
sensual  natuia  had  been  previously  illuminated,  began  to  be  dimin- 
ished in  its  force,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  fallacies  were 
received  and  believed  as  truths,  and  thus  the  way  was  opened  for 
evil  to  begin  its  deadly  work. 

The  fall  of  man,  as  thus  effected,  was  a  gradual  event.  It 
began  by  his  commencing  to  love  the  good  of  his  inferior  princi- 


FALL    COMPLETED   WHEN    JESUS    WAS    MANIFESTED.      127 

pies,  in  preference  to  the  good  of  his  superior  ones  ;  successively- 
descending,  until  he  finally  sunk  into  the  persuasions  and  delu- 
sions of  his  sensual  nature.  This  was  the  circumstance  in  which 
evil  had  its  origin,  and  men  will  obtain  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of 
that  disastrous  event,  if  they  will  but  carefully  attend  to  the  begin- 
ning of  their  own  actual  guilt.  Every  one  knows,  that  this  had 
its  commencement  in  freely  yielding  to  the  suggestion  of  his  sen- 
sual nature,  to  gratify  some  selfish  love.  It  was  near  to  them,  and 
promised  immediate  satisfaction,  whereas,  those*  which  were  of  a 
superior  nature,  seemed  to  be  at  a  greater  distance,  and  to  exert  a 
feebler  influence.  The  serpent  which  seduced  the  inhabitants  of 
Eden  from  their  innocence  and  wisdom,  is  the  same  as  that  by 
which  transgression  and  guilt  have  been  perpetuated.  Man  is  its 
exclusive  author,  and  not  any  thing  extrinsic  to  him.  The  attempt 
to  charge  it  upon  some  other  being,  is  only  another  act  of  self- 
delusion.  It  is  an  endeavor  to  excuse  his  own  misconduct,  by 
heightening  the  criminality  of  another,  which  other  could  not  have 
existed  until  aftei  the  perpetration  of  his  own  guilt. 

But  Adam  did  not  sink  into  every  evil :  his,  like  the  guilt  of  men 
in  subsequent  ages,  was  a  progressive  work.  The  first  intimation 
of  it  is  giveft  in  the  preceding  chapter,  where  it  is  said,  that  "  it 
was  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone,"  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken.  At  first,  he  only  inclined  towards  the  impulses  of  his 
sensual  nature  ;  he  afterwards  began  to  inquire,  whether  it  was 
not  lawful  to  prefer  its  desires  and  suggestions,  and  at  length,  he 
yielded  to  its  solicitations.  Nevertheless,  the  evils  into  which  he 
fell  were  mild  and  few,  compared  with  those  which  were  perpe- 
trated in  after-times.  His  transgression  was  only  the  beginning 
of  that  catastrophe,  by  which  the  fall  of  man  was  made  complete. 
Successive  ages  added  to  the  enormities  which  he  began,  but  the 
atrocity  of  the  fall  could  not  have  reached  its  depth,  until  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world,*  in  order  to  bruise  the 

*  It  may  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  some,  to  hear  that  the  fall  of  man 
was  not  completed,  before  the  time  of  the  Lord's  manifestation.  This, 
however,  we  think  is  very  plain,  from  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
Scriptural  History  of  man.  Still,  the  state  of  Rome  in  respect  to  its 
refinements  in  literature,  the  ^rts,  and  general  civilization  ;  its  successful 
and  extensive  conquests,  together  with  the  circumstance  of  its  having 
been  the  Augustine  age,  when  peace  was  so  settled  with  all  the  world, 
that  the  temple  of  Janus,  (Patulcius,)  was  shut  up,  may  be  urged  as 
facts  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  above  statement.  But  no  condition 
of  merely  natural  civilization,  however  eminent,  if  it  be  destitute  of  true 


128  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

head  of  the  serpent  which  had  occasioned  that  calamity.  In  the 
acts  attendant  upon  that  coming,  he  fulfilled  that  prediction  which 
Avas  delivered  immediately  after  the  temptation  became  successful. 
But  how  did  he  fulfil  it  ?  Was  it  by  bruising  any  natural  serpent's 
head  ?  Certainly  not.  As  the  prediction  was  not  fulfilled  by  the 
bruising  of  any  natural  serpent's  head,  is  it  not  evident  that  it 
could  not  have  been  any  natural  serpent  which  caused  the  tempta- 
tion ?  The  serpents  of  that  time  were  the  sensualities  of  fallen 
humanity,  for  the  Lord  distinctly  asserted  the  Jews  to  be  "  serpents, 
and  a  generation  of  vipers."  (Matt,  xxiii.  33.)  The  Lord's  bruis- 
ing the  serpent's  head,  then,  consisted  in  his  subduing  the  power 
and  ascendancy,  which  the  sensual  principle  had  obtained  with 
men.  He  did  this  by  opening  out  fresh  influences  from  Himself, 
which  are  called  "  a  new  and  living  way,"  (Heb.  x.  20  ;)  and  from 
that  time,  men  have  been  capable,  as  all  history  attests,  of  thinking 
and  acting  from  higher  grounds  than  they  had  previously  done, 
and  thereby  of  discovering  and  exposing  the  frauds  and  deception, 
which  the  merely  sensual  nature  would  impose  upon  us.  This  is 
what  is  implied  in  the  promise  made  unto  believers,  namely,  "  T 
will  give  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents,"  (Luke  x.  19 ;)  "  they 
shall  take  up  serpents."  (Mark  xvi.  18.)  Power  over  these  things 
naturally,  was  originally  vouchsafed ;  nor  is  there  any  intimation 

religious  grounds,  can  be  of  any  weight  in  an  argument  of  this  kind. 
That  the  civilization  of  Rome,  or  any  other  of  the  nations,  had  no  ground 
in  genuine  religion,  is  the  uniform  testimony  of  all  history.  The  fall  of 
man  was  complete  when  he  was  separated  by  pride,  ambition,  selfishness, 
and  all  their  attendant  evils,  from  Divine  and  heavenly  influences :  and 
there  is  evidence  to  prove,  that  these  features  distinguished  the  nations, 
at  the  period  of  our  Lord's  manifestation,  more  than  at  any  other  time  in 
the  history  of  our  race.  The  awful  character  which  Jesus  draws  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  is  a  representation  of  the  church  as  it  then  existed  with 
mankind  at  large.  Sismondi,  in  his  history  of  the  *'  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,"  speaking  of  the  Julian  family,  says,  "  it  is  that  of  *  the  dictator 
Caesar  ; '  his  name  was  transmitted,  by  adoption  out  of  the  direct  line,  but 
always -within  the  circle  of  his  kindred,  to  the  five  first  heads  of  the 
Roman  Empire  ;  Augustus  reigned  from  the  year  30,  B.  C.  to  the  year 
14  of  our  era ;  Tiberius  from  14  to  37,  A.  D. ;  Caligula  from  37  to  41 ; 
Claudius  from  41  to  54 ;  Nero  from  54  to  68.  Their  names  alone,  with 
the  exception  of  the  first,  concerning  whom  there  still  exists  some  diver- 
sity of  opinion,  recall  every  thing  that  is  shameful  and  perfidious  in  man, 
—  every  thing  that  is^  atrocious  in  the  abuse  of  absolute  power.  Never 
had  the  world  been  astounded  with  such  a  variety  and  enormity  of 
crime ;  never  had  so  fatal  an  attack  been  made  on  every  virtue,  which 
men  had  been  accustomed  to  hold  in  reverence." —  Cabinet  Cyclopcedia. 
Vol.  1,  p.  28. 


POWER  TO  TREAD  ON  SERPENTS,  ETC.        129 

of  its  having  been  lost  by  man's  transgression :  on  the  contrary, 
we  find  savage  nations  to  display  it  with  the  greatest  energy. 
The  Lord  did  not  come  into  the  world  for  such  a  purpose.  The 
power  to  tread  on  serpents,  which  he  then  conferred,  was  a  power 
to  subdue  our  sensual  nature  :  and  the  power  to  take  up  serpents, 
was  the  ability  to  elevate  our  sensual  nature,  by  placing  it  under 
the  purifying  influences  and  directing  energies,  of  the  loftier  prin- 
ciples of  spirituality  and  religion. 

There  are  several  historical  narratives,  in  which  serpents  are 
mentioned  in  a  truly  literal  sense.  In  those  cases,  however,  their 
representation  is  the  same  as  that  which  they  sustain  in  the  history 
which  is  factitious,  and,  consequently,  they  may  be  cited  as  afford- 
ing confirmatory  evidence  of  it.  For  instance,  the  rod  of  Aaron, 
on  the  occasion  of  his  interview  with  Pharaoh,  is  stated  to  have 
been  cast  down,  and  it  became  a  serpent.  (Exod.  vii.  10  - 12.) 
Because  the  rod  of  Aaron  denoted  the  power  of  spiritual  good,  by 
casting  it  down,  was  signified  its  presentation,  and  by  its  becoming 
a  serpent,  was  represented,  that  such  power,  with  the  Egyptians, 
was  become  altogether  sensual.  The  circumstance  of  the  rods  of 
th^"  magicians  also  becoming  serpents,  was  a  confirmation  of  that 
truth,  which  the  transaction  of  Aaron  had  representatively  re- 
vealed :  and  the  rod  of  Aaron,  swallowing  up  those  of  the  magi- 
cians, was  a  further  representative  revelation,  that  such  disorderly 
power  would  be  taken  away  from  them. 

When  the  people  of  Israel  "spake  against  God  and  against 
Moses,  fiery  serpents  were  sent  among  them,  so  that  much  people 
of  Israel  died."  This  was  done  to  represent  the  sensual  loves 
with  which  they  were  beset,  and  through  the  influences  of  which 
many  of  mankind  spiritually  perished.  Moses,  complying  with  a 
Divine  command,  "  made  a  serpent  of  brass,  and  put  it  upon  a 
pole :  and  it  came  to  pass,  that  if  a  serpent  had  bitten  any  man, 
when  he  beheld  the  serpent  of  brass  he  lived."  (Numb.  xxi.  5  -  9.) 
Every  one  must  perceive  that  this  was  done  for  a  representative 
purpose.  It  is  evident  from  the  circumstance  of  the  Lord  having 
said,  concerning  it,  "  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilder- 
ness^ even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  * 

*  John  iii.  14,  15.  This  passage  is  commonly  regarded  as  a  pre-figura- 
tion  of  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  men  are  to  believe  was  a 
suffering,  substituted  for  that  which  is  due  to  their  own  guilt !  But  the 
student,  whose  mind  has  not  been  pre-occupied  with  that  idea,  will  find 


130  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  to  the  good  of  his  sensual  nature,  was 
signified  by  the  brazen  serpent.  He  was  so  represented  before  the 
Israelites,  because  they  were  merely  in  a  sensual  state,  and  did  not 
elevate  their  thoughts  concerning  God  above  that  low  condition. 
Its  being  lifted  upon  a  pole,  signified  the  glorification  of  the  Lord's 
sensual  nature.  And  for  those  who  were  bitten  by  the  serpent,  to 
look  upon  that  which  was  of  brass,  and  receive  a  cure,  denoted, 
that  those  who  feel  the  stings  and  wounds  inflicted  by  sensual 
loves,  and  look  up  to  the  Lord  for  deliverance,  will  be  sure  to 
receive  the  communication  of  spiritual  life  for  effecting  it 

Other  cases  could  be  easily  adduced,  and,  like  the  above,  sum- 
marily explained ;  but  what  has  been  observed,  must  make  it 
evident,  that  the  serpent  of  Eden  was  tlie  sensual  principle  of  the 
Adamic  people,  and  that  its  temptations  consisted  in  presenting 
before  their  higher  faculties,  the  fascinations  of  worldly  objects  and 
delights ;  so  that,  in  process  of  time,  their  higher  principles  and 
powers  were  seduced  to  favor  them,  and,  being  lulled  into  a  for- 
getfulness  of  superior  duties,  they  gradually  sunk  into  the  gratifi- 
cations of  their  lower  principles,  irrespective  of  a  higher  guidance, 
and  therefore,  lost  possession  of  their  intelligence,  which  was  their 
expulsion  from  the  garden. 

This  view  of  the  subject  presents  the  narrative  to  us  in  an 
intelligible  form.  It  comes  home,  in  a  considerable  measure,  to 
our  experience  :  we  see  its  reasonableness  ;  and  at  once  recognize 
the  subtlety  *  of  the  serpent  in  the  occasional  experience  of  its 
suggestions,  and  the  fallacious  aspect  under  which  it  presents 
worldly  and  selfish  loves.  We  perceive  that  its  influence  must 
be  attended  with  afatal  withdrawing  from  all  spiritual  good,  unless 
it  be  vigilantly  watched  and  carefully  resisted.  It  reasons  falla- 
ciously, because  the  materials  of  its  argument  are  drawn  from  the 

it  difficult  to  establish  any  analogy  between  such  a  supposed  type  and 
antetype.  Surely  there  is  no  correspondence  between  Moses,  who  lifted 
up  the  serpent,  and  the  wicked  authorities  who  crucified  Jesus  !  nor  can 
any  thing  but  fancy  find  any  resemblance  between  the  pole  and  the  cross. 
There  is  nothing  answering  to  the  crown  of  thorns,  the  nails,  the  spear, 
ike.  &c.  The  reason  is,  that  it  was  not  such  a  type.  The  raising  of  the 
brazen  serpent  related  to  the  glorification  of  the  Lord,  but  the  crucifixion, 
to  the  humiliation  of  the  Lord :  these  were  two  distinct  acts  connected 
with  his  manifestation  in  the  world,  for  the  redemption  of  mankind. 

*  The  original  word  translated  "  subtle,"  though  it  may  denote  insid- 
iousness  and  craft,  yet  here  it  rather  means  the  power  to  insinuate  and 
ingratiate. 


EXAMPLES    OF    SENSUAL    REASONINGS.  131 

things  of  time  and  sense.  It  does  not  consult  the  inner  dictate 
and  superior  suggestions  of  the  mind.  The  sensual  man  says, 
"  This  is  my  nature,  why  should  I  resist  its  propensities,  and  not 
enjoy  the  pleasures  which  they  promise  ?  God,  if  there  be  such  a 
being,  must  have  given  them  to  me,  and  certainly  I  cannot  sin 
agauist  him  when  I  use  them."  These  deceptive  reasonings, 
illustrate  the  serpent  saying,  "  Ye  shall  not  surely  die."  But  how 
transparent  is  the  subtlety  of  such  suggestions.  Although  God 
has  given  to  man  a  sensual  nature,  because  he  was  to  be  a  resident 
in  a  physical  world,  yet  it  was  given  in  connection  with  superior 
powers,  and  was  intended  to  be  employed  under  the  direction  of  a 
higher  impulse  than  itself.  Again,  the  serpent  is  reported  to  have 
said,  "  In  the  day  tliat  ye  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  your  eyes 
shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil." 
To  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit  is  plainly  to  transgress  a  given  law. 
The  tree  of  knowledge  is  a  divine  gift,  by  which  men  are  enabled 
to  perceive  the  truths  of  faith :  the  fruit  of  this  tree  is  the  good  of 
life.  When  men,  from  sensual  persuasions,  are  led  to  think  that 
any  virtues  they  may  possess  are  self-derived,  they  eat  of  the  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge :  they  believe  their  eyes  are  open, 
because  they  can  see  with  approbation  the  delights  of  the  world ; 
and  they  conceive  that  they  are  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil, 
because  they  think  they  guide  themselves  in  the  prudences  of  life : 
but  these  are  fallacies,  utterly  destructive  of  all  genuine  faith  in 
spiritual  and  celestial  things  ! 

Look  at  the  effects  of  such  reasonings,  as  they  are  exhibited  in 
merely  worldly  and  sensually  guided  men.  Who  are  so  strongly 
persuaded  as  these,  that  their  eyes  have  been  opened  by  having 
abandoned  the  teachings  of  religion,  and  plunged  into  the  fascina- 
tions of  the  world  ?  "  They  think  that  as  gods  they  are  wise, 
knowing  good  and  evil,  because  they  may  be  capable  of  distin- 
guishing between  the  pains  and  pleasures  of  sense  ;  and  yet  who, 
in  reality,  are  as  blind  as  they,  to  all  the  knowledges  which  relate 
to  spirituality,  futurity,  and  heaven  ?  They  do  not  acknowledge 
an  eternal  life,  for  they  believe  that  when  they  die,  they  end: 
neither  do  they  acknowledge  the  Lord,  but  worship  only  them- 
selves and  nature.  Those  amongst  them  who  wish  to  be  guarded 
in  their  expressions,  say  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being,  of  whose 
nature  they  are  ignorant,  and  who  rules  over  all.  These  are  the 
principles,  in  which  they  confirm  themselves,  by  numerous  sensual 
and  scientific  arguments,  and  if  they  dared,  they  would  openly 


132  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

proclaim  these  views  before  all  mankind.  Such  persons,  although 
they  desire  to  be  regarded  as  gods,  or  as  the,  wisest  of  beings,  would, 
if  they  were  asked  what  it  was  not  to  love  themselves,  reply  that  it 
was  the  same  thing  as  to  have  no  existence.  The  idea  of  living 
from  the  Lord,  they  conceive  to  be  a  mere  phantasy  ;  and  if  inter- 
rogated as  to  their  knowledge  of  conscience,  tliey  would  say,  it  is 
a  mere  creation  of  the  imagination,  which  may  be  serviceable  in 
keeping  the  vulgar  under  restraint:  if  interrogated  as  to  their 
knowledges  of  perception,  they  would  laugh  at  your  question,  and 
call  it  enthusiastic.  Such  is  their  wisdom,  such  open  eyes  they 
have,  and  such  gods  they  are :  on  these  principles,  which  they 
imagine  clearer  than  the  day,  they  ground  all  their  reasonings  and 
conclusions  concerning  the  mysteries  of  faith,  and  what  can  be 
the  result  but  an  abyss  of  darkness !  These  are  the  serpents, 
above  all  others,  who  seduced  the  world."  (Arcana  Coelestia,  206.) 
And  this  principle,  having  gained  successive  dominion  over  Adam, 
caused  his  fall.  It  may  be  questioned,  whether  that  generation  of 
the  Adamic  people,  with  whom  it  commenced  operations,  descended 
into  all  the  enormities  contemplated  in  the  above  extract,  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  having  been  fearfully  realized  in  their 
posterity  before  the  flood. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  EATING  OF  THE  FORBIDDEN  FRUIT  AND  EXPULSION  FROlf  EDEN. 

"  '  Twas  man  himself 
Brought  Death  into  the  world :  and  man  himself 
Gave  keenness  to  his  darts,  quickened  his  pace, 
And  multiplied  destruction  on  mankind." 

Dr.  PoRTEUS,  Bis/iop  of  London. 

From  the  considerations  which  have  been  adduced,  we  learn 
that  the  people,  treated  of  under  the  collective  name  of  Adam, 
w.ere  distinguished  by  a  variety  of  principles,  the  whole  of  which, 
during  their  integrity,  existed  in  order  and  operated  for  happiness. 
The  sensual  principle  was  among  the  lowest  of  this  variety ;  the 
circumstance  of  its  existing  upon  the  outermost  range  of  the  mind, 
and,  as  it  were,  dwelling  so  close  upon  the  world,  is  the  reason 
why  it  is  described  as  being  more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the 
field.  Hence  it  was  seen,  that  the  tendency  of  this  principle  was 
outwards  and  downwards,  in  like  manner  as  the  desires  of  the 
Mgher  principles  were  inwards  and  upwards,  and  that  man,  by  the 


THE  BATING  OF  THE  FORBIDDEN  FRUIT,  ETC.    133 

freedom  of  his  nature,  was  capable  of  giving  ascendancy  to  either, 
by  cultivating  one  in  preference  to  the  other  ;  and  that  the  success 
of  the  serpent's  temptation,  consisted  in  man's  sensual  nature 
favoring  the  excitement  induced  upon  it  from  Avithout.  It  has, 
also,  been  intimated  that  this  catastrophe  was  not  a  sudden,  but 
successive  work ;  that  it  began  by  inducing  inclination  to  prefer 
the  outer  pleasures  of  the  world,  to  the  inward  delights  of  heav- 
enly things ;  then  by  insinuating  doubts  as  to  the  existence  of 
things  spiritual,  because  they  could  not  be  seen  or  handled  by  the 
physical  senses  :  next,  by  suggesting  that  natural  things  might  be 
the  only  realities,  because  they  only  came  under  the  cognizance 
of  the  eye  and  touch  ;  and,  at  length,  by  producing  the  consent  of 
the  inner  powers  to  the  indulgences  of  sensual  love.  Such,  we 
conceive,  to  have  been  the  general  process  of  the  temptation  and 
the  transgression  finally  induced.  The  period  which  was  occu- 
pied in  this  decline  and  fall,  is  not  announced.  Still  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  was  the  work  of  several  generations. 
It  is  the  existence  of  the  fact,  rather  than  the  period  occupied  in 
its  production,  which  it  is  of  importance  to  know. 

Having  these  general  views  of  the  superior  state  of  man,  and 
the  way  of  his  decline  and  fall,  before  us ;  we  can  now  proceed  to 
investigate  the  nature  of  the  law,  he  is  stated  to  have  broken  by 
that  transaction.  It  is  thus  written :  "  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden 
thou  mayest  freely  eat,  but  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it,  for  in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die."  (Gen.  ii.  16,  17.)  The  manner  in  which  it  was 
transgressed,  though  cited  in  the  preceding  chapter,  for  the  sake 
of  having  the  whole  transaction  then  before  us,  was  not  there 
explained :  for  this  purpose  it  is  now  again  produced.  "  When 
the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that  it  was 
pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree' to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise, 
she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her 
husband,  and  he  did  eat.  And  the  eyes  of  them  both  were  opened, 
and  they  knew  that  they  were  naked.  —  Therefore  the  Lord  sent 
him  forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden  to  till  the  ground,  from  whence 
he  was  taken."  (Gen.  iii.  6,  7  -  23.)  Eating  is  the  act  forbidden, 
and  we  think  it  much  more  natural  to  regard  it,  as  the  interdiction 
of  some  irregular  process  of  the  mind,  than  as  the  prohibition  of  a 
particular  act  of  the  body.  If  a  physical  act  were  intended  by 
the  prescription,  surely,  we  may  fairly  ask  why  the  tree  was  placed 
in  the  garden  ?  Wliy  it  should  have  appeared  so  good  for  food, 
12 


134  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise ; 
if,  after  all,  it  was  not  to  be  tasted  ?  The  common  answer  to  these 
inquiries  is,  that  it  was  planted  in  the  garden  with  a  prohibitory 
law,  to  test  the  fidelity  of  the  parties  who  beheld  it.  But  who 
does  not  perceive,  that  this  idea  makes  the  tree  a  stumbling-block, 
and  God  the  tempter,  for  having  put  it  there.*  It  plainly  repre- 
sents the  tree  as  a  temptation,  and  supposes  God  not  to  have  fore- 
seen its  consequences.  Surely,  the  Lord  does  not  try  the  con- 
stancy of  his  people,  by  giving  them  a  law  to  observe  upon  the 
one  hand,  and  then,  upon  the  other,  to  place  in  their  way  a  temp- 
tation to  transgress  it.  The  supposition  is  shocking,  and  should 
be  avoided.  The  whole  notion  about  God  trying  the  fidelity  of 
his  people,  by  placing  them  in  difficult  circumstances,  requires 
revision.     It  is  an  apparent,  and  not  a  genuine  truth. 

God  is  essential  goodness,  and  he  has  always  watched  over  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  men,  with  the  utmost  care :  he  would 
have  removed  the  fruit  out  of  Adam's  reach,  and  hindered  the 
serpent  from  persuading  him  to  eat  it,  if  they  had  been  things 
extraneous  to  his  nature.  But  they  were  not :  they  were  things 
which  belonged  to  him  as  a  man,  and  to  have  removed  them,  would 
have  been  to  have  taken  away  his  manhood.  This  sensual  princi- 
ple was  necessary  to  complete  his  nature,  and  fit  him  for  residing 
in  the  world :  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  was  necessary  to 
encourage  him  in  the  way  of  obedience,  and  to  act  as  a  hindrance 
to  his  transgression.  Freedom  was  indispensable  to  employ  those 
knowledges  agreeably  to  his  own  choice.  How  bould  a  man  be 
man,  without  a  sensual  principle !  How  little  would  man  have 
been  distinguished  from  the  brute,  if  he  had  been  deprived  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil !  and  without  freedom,  he*  would  have 
been  a  mere  creature  of  impulsive  instinct. 

But  Adam  was  endowed  with  all  those  excellences.  He  pos- 
sessed knowledge  of  the  highest  kind.  He  was  in  the  life  of 
obedience,  and  so  in  the  knowledge  of  good ;  thence,  he  would 
have  a  perception  of  its  opposite,  and  so  acquire  the  knowledge  of 
evil.     This  was  a  tree  distinguished  among  the  other  intelligences 

*  Byron,  in  his  terrible  poem,  "  Cain,"  makes  him  say,  in  reference  to 
the  temptation  of  Adam  :  — 

"  The  tree  was  planted,  and  not  for  him  ? 
If  not,  why  place  him  near  it,  where  it  grew, 
The  fairest  in  the  centre  ?    They  have  but 
One  answer  to  all  questions,  •  'twas  his  will, 
And  he  is  good.'  " 


SIGNIFICATION    OF    EATING.  135 

of  his  intellectual  garden.  It  was  an  enlarged  possession  of  gen- 
uine knowledge,  proper  to  his  high  condition.  But  he  was  not  to 
eat  thereof.  Eating  was  the  prohibited  act.  Why  was  this,  v/hen 
he  was  so  freely  permitted  to  eat  of  every  other  tree  ?  We  shall 
find  the  answer  to  this  interrogatory,  if  we  consider  the  significa- 
tion of  the  term. 

That  it  does  not  mean  natural  eating  is  evident,  because  taste 
is  the  chief  species  of  knowledge  which  it  is  capable  of  inducing, 
and  that  is  among  the  lowest  class.  The  notion  of  the  fruit  hav- 
ing possessed  some  property,  that  was  capable  of  exciting  the 
mind  to  greater  action,  and  so  to  procure  additional  knowledge, 
we  think  to  be  unworthy  of  a  serious  thought.  Stimulants  will 
inflame  the  imagination,  but  they  do  not  increase  the  knowledge  ! 
They  may  excite  and  disorder  it,  but  they  cannot  increase  and 
strengthen  it.  Surely,  knowledges,  superior  to  those  which  Adam 
in  his  integrity  possessed,  were  not  to  be  procured  by  the  eating 
of  some  peculiar  fruit ! '  If  so,  Adam  could  not  have  been  so  wise 
as  is  supposed,  because  there  were  certain  knowledges  withheld 
from  him,  and  which  the  fruit  of  some  remarkable  tree  was  capa- 
ble of  furnishing.     But  what  dreams  are  these  !     (See  pp.  80,  81.) 

Eating  is  a  term  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Scriptures,  and, 
in  the  really  historical  portion  of  them,  it  literally  denotes  what  it 
expresses ;  but  there  are  many  occasions  on  which  the  word  is 
used  without  such  meaning ;  yet  in  every  instance  it  has  an  inter- 
nal sense.  We  select  the  following  examples.  The  Lord  said, 
"  I  am  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven :  if  any 
man  eat  of  this  bread  he  shall  live  forever."  "Except  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have  no  life 
in  you."  "  He  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me."  (John 
vi.  51,  54,  57.)  In  these  sentences,  it  is  plain,  that  by  eating  is 
not  meant  eating,  but  that  internal  act  of  the  mind,  by  which  it 
appropriates,  in  an  orderly  way,  the  good  things  of  religion,  and 
thereby  acquires  spiritual  nutrition  for  the  sustenance  of  the  soul. 
It  was  for  the  same  reason  that  the  Lord  said  by  the  prophet, 
"  Hearken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good,  and 
let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness."  (Isaiah  Iv.  2.)  The  Lord 
also  said,  "  to  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree 
of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God:"  (Rev.  ii.  7:) 
where,  by  the  tree  of  life,  is  meant  the  perception  of  love  ;  for 
love  is  a  fruit-bearing  principle  with  men ;  and  this  is  said  to  be 
in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God,  when  it  is  made  the  centre  of 


136  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

all  the  religious  duties  of  the  church ;  while  to  eat  of  the  tree, 
clearly  means  to  appropriate  the  perception  of  love  to  our  s  piritual 
use  and  benefit.  The  act  of  eating,  as  of  natural  food  for  the 
nutrition  of  the  body,  is  named, — because  it  corresponds  to  the 
act  of  appropriating  spiritual  good  for  the  sustenance  of  the  soul. 
There  is  a  food  for  the  mind,  as  well  as  for  the  body.  The  soul 
must  be  fed  with  the  good  of  love,  in  order  that  it  may  live  in 
spiritual  health,  in  like  manner  as  the  body  must  be  supported 
with  the  bread  of  nature,  in  order  to  maintain  its  physical  vigor. 
The  love  of  what  is  good,  and  the  perceptions  thence  arising, 
were  the  food  by  which  Adam  was  instructed  to  sustain  his  emi- 
nent condition :  this  is  what  is  meant  by  that  portion  of  the  law 
which  says,  "  of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat : " 
the  reason  for  the  exception  will  presently  appear. 

Every  one  is,  as  to  his  internal  quality,  precisely  what  his  love 
is  :  it  is  this,  with  its  consequent  perception,  which  constitutes  the 
individuality  of  every  one.  Man's  character  springs  from  his 
love,  and  he  is  judged  and  estimated  according  to  the  nature  of 
its  quality  and  developments.  This  love  and  perception,  as  to  the 
individuality  which  they  form,  are  man's  own :  they  distinguish 
every  man  from  every  man.  In  this  respect  each  one  is  himself 
alone.  He  has  a  distinctiveness  of  nature  which  belongs  to  no 
one  else,  and  this  is  acquired  by  his  having  appropriated,  incorpo- 
rated, cherished,  or  spiritually  eaten  of  some  peculiar  love.  If  it 
were  not  so  appropriated,  it  would  pass  away  and  vanish.  It  is 
only  by  such  appropriation  that  his  individuality  remains.  As  he 
appropriates  good  in  any  of  its  varieties,  the  distinctiveness  of 
character  thereby  imparted,  cannot  perish.  So  that  he  may  "  eat 
of  every  tree  of  the  garden,  but  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  he  must  not  eat  of  it ; "  this  is  forbidden,  for  reasons 
which  regard  his  truest  welfare. 

The  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  things  of  faith,  duty,  and  heaven, 
is  not  of  man  ;  it  is  the  Lord's.  It  is  communicated  to  the  world 
by  revelation,  either  through  an  internal  dictate  to  its  immediate 
subjects,  or  by  means  of  a  written  Word.  Without  such  revela- 
tion, man  must  have  been  utterly  ignorant  of  such  knowledge. 
Every  one  may  be  sure,  if  he  is  so  disposed,  that  all  his  knowledge 
of  such  things  has  come  to  him  from  a  source  superior  to  himself. 
He  feels  that  he  is  incompetent  for  such  discoveries,  and  therefore, 
that  he  ought  to  live  under  the  continual  acknowledgment,  that  his 
knowledge  of  holy  and  religious  things  is  not  from  himself,  but 
from  the  Lord. 


CAUSE    OF    THE    PROHIBITION.  137 

Now,  as  eating  is  significant  of  mental  appropriation,  to  eat  of 
the  tree  of  knowledge,  denoted  that  mental  appropriation  of  it,  by 
which  men  were  led  to  believe  that  it  was  the  result  of  their  own 
self-derived  intelligence.  Adam  was  forbidden  to  eat  of  it,  in 
order  to  guard  against  this  consequence.  We,  therefore,  cease  to 
wonder  at  the  prohibition.  We  see  that  it  was  done  for  a  wise 
and  merciful  purpose,  and  designed  as  a  medium  for  preserving 
man  in  the  humble  acknowledgment  of  the  Lord,  as  the  soGrce 
and  giver  of  all  intelligence  and  truth ;  and  also,  ta  teach  him, 
that  if  he  ceased  from  such  acknowledgment,  he  would  necessarily 
fall  into  transgression.  And  is  it  not  so  ?  Do  not  those  who  are 
wise  in  their  own  conceits,  who  pride  themselves  upon  their  pre- 
sumed intelligence,  and  consider  it  as  a  meritorious  acquisition  of 
their  own,  reject  the  Lord,  and  so  transgress  his  law  ? 

But  there  is  another  important  reason,  why  the  eating  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge  was  prohibited.  Knowledge  is  a  means  to  an 
end.  It  is  given  for  the  improvement  and  formation  of  character. 
The  more  eminent  the  knowledge  is,  if  applied  to  life,  the  more 
exalted  is  the  man.  All  knowledge  has  respect  to  life,  and  it  is 
mtended  for  the  promotion  and  establishment  of  good.  But  to  eat 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  is  to  appropriate  information  for  the 
enlargement  of  the  understanding  merely,  without  due  regard  to 
its  holier  uses.  How  frequently  is  that  which  is  denominated 
genius,  found  to  be  disorderly  ?  How  often  are  clever  men  dis- 
covered to  be  crafty  ?  Does  it  not  sometimes  happen  that  men, 
with  enlarged  understandings,  have  narrow  souls  and  selfish 
hearts  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  wise  men  are  sometimes  wicked : 
—  that  they  perpetrate  their  ills  with  sagacity  —  "plate  their  sins 
with  gold  ?  "  Every  one  knows  these  truths :  but  why  are  they 
so  ?  simply  because  they  have  eaten  of  the  tree  of  knowledge : 
they  have  devoured  information  with  a  greedy  appetite,  regarding 
knowledge  as  the  end,  desiring  to  be  clever  rather  than  to  be 
good.  The  mischievous  tendency  of  such  a  course  is  evident. 
It  places  the  perpetrator  in  the  position  of  "that  ser\'ant  which 
knew  his  Lord's  will,  and  prepared  not  himself,  neither  did  accord- 
ing to  his  will ;  (and  who  therefore)  shall  be  beaten  with  many 
stripes."  (Luke  xii.  47.)  How  wise,  then,  is  the  command,  "  ye 
shall  not  eat  of  it ;"  and  if  men  do  so,  how  certain  is  their  fall  — 
a  fall  into  a  criminal  neglect  of  the  laws  of  order,  propriety, 
integrity,  and  virtue. 

Does  not  experience  prove,  that  this  is  just  the  course  which 
12* 


138  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

the  sensual  appetites  of  men  suggest  ?  It  desires  to  separate 
itself  from  superior  guidance,  and  to  be  left  to  its  own  control.  It 
strives  to  prevent  knowledge  from  exercising  its  salutary  influences 
upon  the  lower  affections  :  it  would  persuade  us,  that  its  only 
province  is  the  head ;  that  men  are  wise  in  many  things,  because 
they  may  happen  to  know  something  of  a  few,  and  so  leave  the 
heart  untouched  to  mistake  its  way.  Thus,  we  conclude,  that  the 
prohibition  was  founded  in  such  good  reasons  as  men  may  see  tlie 
value  of.  The  prohibition  is  as  binding  upon  us  as  it  was  upon 
Adam ;  and  a  violation  of  the  command  will  also  be  attended  with 
fatal  consequences.  It  is  lawful  to  see  the  tree  of  knowledge  — 
to  comprehend  wjiat  is  wise  —  God  planted  it  for  this  purpose,  but 
to  EAT  of  it  was  forbidden,  because  to  do  so,  would  be  to  regard 
intellectual  sustenance  as  the  end  of  it,  and  so  induce  a  falling 
that  would  permit  the  heart  to  grow  corrupt. 

But  the  tree  was  eaten  of,  and  this  consequence  resulted :  still, 
as  it  has  been  said,  it  was  not  accomplished  by  the  first  sallies  of 
the  tempter.  Men  who  have  attained  to  any  eminence  in  virtue, 
do  not  fall  into  evil  on  the  first  excitement.  They  think  upon  the 
subject,  revolve  it  in  their  minds,  and  for  a  period  they,  to  some 
extent,  resist  it :  but,  bye  and  bye,  they  incline  towards,  and  after- 
wards look  at  it  with  desire,  whereupon  the  suggestions  of  the 
higher  sense  are  weakened.  Then  they  experience  a  struggle 
between  desire  and  duty,  and  give  way,  only  when  the  exciting 
object  appears  to  the  affection,  as  the  tree  of  knowledge  did  to 
the  woman,  namely,  "  as  good  for  food,  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and 
to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise."  Men  do  not  partake  of  that 
which  is  forbidden,  until  they  have  been  persuaded  it  is  good :  thoy 
do  not  plunge  into  transgression,  until  the  delights  thereby  pro- 
posed to  be  obtained,  appear  somewhat  pleasant  to  the  eye  —  that 
is,  agreeable  to  the  illusion  under  which  they  labor :  neither  do 
they  enter  upon  a  career  of  guilt,  until  they  have  begun  to  cherish 
it  as  a  means  to  something  that  is  wise  ! 

These  are  the  circumstances,  under  which  men  in  general  pass 
into  the  perpetration  of  crime  in  these  our  days,  and  they  serve 
forcibly  to  illustrate  the  narrative  which  describes  the  process  of 
Adam's  guilt.  His  fall  was,  in  its  general  nature,  somewhat  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  ours,  when  we  are  tempted  into  transgression.  The 
principal  differences  lie  in  the  degrees  of  its  enormity.  He  fell 
into  evils  with  a  larger  amount  of  knowledge  than  it  is  our  lot  to 
possess :   he  began  to  decline  with  a  purity  of  character  which 


PROGRESS    OP   GTTILT    ILLUSTRATED.  139 

does  not  belong  to  us.  He  transgressed  with  more  open  eyes,  and 
sunk  into  an  abyss  from  a  loftier  summit  than  we  have  ever 
gained*  Hence  his  posterity,  in  a  few  generations,  perished  in 
that  terrible  calamity  described  as  a  flood. 

Having  descended  into  evil  by  the  process  we  have  indicated,  he 
must  needs  have  begun  to  view  all  moral  things  under  a  perverted 
aspect :  and  finally,  he  would  have  misgivings  as  to  the  existence 
of  spiritual  and  heavenly  things,  because  they  could  not  be  con- 
ceived of  sensually  and  scientifically :  the  result  of  this  incredulity 
was  the  inversion  and  overthrow  of  all  his  excellence.  Evil  was 
thought  to  be  good,  and  falsehood  truth,  to  describe  which  the  for 
bidden  fruit  is,  under  the  influence  of  the  temptation,  said  to  have 
appeared  "  as  good  for  food,  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  to  be  desired 
to  make  one  wise." 

The  consideration  of  these  facts  aid  us  in  seeing  the  rationale^ 
and  tracing  the  process  of  Adam's  fall.  We  at  once  see  that  it 
was  not  accomplished  by  a  talking  reptile  that  was  out  of  man,  but 
that  it  resulted  from  the  fallacious  reasonings  of  the  sensual  prin- 
ciple, the  existence  of  which  was  proper  and  necessary  to  his 
being.  These  fallacious  reasonings  consisted  in  confirming  ap- 
pearances to  be  realities.  They  were  small  in  their  beginnings 
but  fatal  in  their  consequences.  It  was  like  a  particle  of  dust 
falling  upon  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  and  preventing  it  from  seeing 
the  things  of  nature  with  certainty  and  clearness :  self-guidance 
was  preferred  to  a  dependence  on  the  Lord,  concerning  which  the 
prophet  says,  "  Woe  unto  them  that  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil ; 
that  put  darkness  for  light,  and  light  for  darkness  ;  that  put  bitter 
for  sweet,  and  sweet  for  bitter !  Woe  unto  them  that  are  wise  in 
their  own  eyes,  and  prudent  in  their  own  sight."  (Isaiah  v.  20,  21.) 

Such  was  the  state  brought  about  by  a  series  of  perverse  sen- 
sual reasonings.  We  do  not  consider  it  to  have  been  the  work  of 
one  man,  or  of  the  first  generation,  but  as  a  result  consummated 
by  some  of  their  posterity  during  the  age  of  the  Adamic  people. 

But  this  state  led  to  other  consequences,  the  painful  nature  of 
which  may  be  illustrated  by  the  common  experience  of  mankind. 
All  know  that  there  was  a  period,  in  their  personal  history,  when 
they  had  not  fallen  into  the  actual  perpetration  of  those  sins, 
which  now  so  easily  beset  them,  and  that  the  first  effect  of  having 
done  so,  was  to  awaken  them  to  a  sense  of  the  danger  they  had 
incurred.  The  act,  which  first  succeeds  a  deed  of  guilt,  is  timidly 
t»  look  about  to  ascertain  whether  it  has  been  watched  by  others. 


140 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY, 


Conscience,  also,  by  its  pangs  in  after-times,  effectually  proves  to 
them  that  their  innocence  is  gone.  These  experiences,  like  that 
of  Adam's,  open  their  eyes  and  let  them  know  that  they  are  naked. 
To  open  their  eyes  meant,  that  they  now  saw  their  guilt ;  and  to 
know  that  they  were  naked,  denoted  a  consciousness  that  their 
innocence  was  departed.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Scriptures 
speak  of  "  nakedness  "  in  the  sense  of  degradation.    (Rev.  iii.  17.) 

It  was  said  of  them  before  they  fell,  tiiat  "  they  were  naked  and 
not  ashamed,"  to  teach,  that  they  were  innocent  and  felt  no  guilt : 
but  after  their  transgression,  they  saw  the  disaster  they  had  in- 
curred and  became  ashamed.  Where  there  is  no  innocence, 
nakedness  is  a  scandal  and  disgrace  :  but  it  is  not  so  where  inno- 
cence exists,  as  in  the  case  of  infants ;  hence  it  is  the  symbol  of 
innocence.  But  to  know  it  shamefully,  as  in  the  case  of  Adam, 
implies  the  presence  of  a  sense  of  guilt ;  and  therefore,  he  was 
sent  "forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  till  the  ground  from 
whence  he  was  taken." 

To  be  sent  forth  from  Eden,  was  not  an  arbitrary  act  of  the 
Almighty :  he  does  not  deprive  man  of  any  felicity  which  he  is 
qualified  to  enjoy  ;  and  therefore,  his  expulsion  from  paradise  was 
a  natural  consequence,  arising  from  the  unfavorable  change  which 
had  now  taken  place  in  his  character.  His  position  in  Eden,  as 
shown  in  the  preceding  chapter,  denoted  the  pleasure  and  delight 
which  arose  from  an  orderly  love  ;  but  of  these,  his  transgression, 
necessarily  deprived  him.  It  was  his  own  act.  By  listening  to 
the  suggestions  of  his  sensual  nature,  and  misusing  his  freedom, 
he  withdrew  himself  from  the  sacred  influences  of  genuine  good- 
ness :  in  like  manner  as  the  vicious  are  still  known  to  keep  aloof 
from  virtuous  society. 

But  although  Eden  is  necessarily  lost  to  every  man,  who 
transgresses  the  rules  and  discipline  of  virtue,  yet  he  is  watched 
over  with  unabating  diligence  by  the  divine  mercy  of  the  Lord. 
"  Though  a  good  man  fall,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "  he  shall  not  be 
utterly  cast  down : "  (Psalm  xxxvii.  23,  24  :)  he  was  preserved  in 
a  condition  to  "  till  the  ground  from  whence  he  was  taken."  Prov- 
idence does  not  abandon  the  sinner :  it  is  always  wisely  kind  and 
merciful :  it  reminds  him  that  all  the  virtues  which  he  might  have 
possessed,  were  communicated  graces,  and  that  they  were  sown 
into  his  nature,  specially  created  for  their  reception,  by  teaching 
and  training.  Man  is  lifted  into  spiritual  eminence,  by  cultivating 
the  moral  ground  in  which  he  may  be  placed :  if  he  fall  from  such 


THE    CTJRSE   UPON   THE    SERPENT.  141 

elevation,  that  is  the  ground  to  which  he  descends.  This  was  the 
ground  from  whence  Adam  had  risen  into  the  distinction  he  at- 
tained :  he  fell,  and  so  passed  into  it  again :  but  he  was  not  then 
forgotten;  he  was  taught  a  duty  — he  was  "to  till  the  ground 
from  whence  he  was  taken."  In  other  words,  he  was  to  cultivate 
the  ground  from  which  he  had  risen,  and  to  which  he  had  de- 
scended, b J  inseminating  into  it  the  seeds  of  truth,  to  watch  over 
their  growth  with  solicitude  and  care,  to  be  attentive  to  the  fruits 
they  were  intended  to  produce,  and  thus  strive  to  regain  the  emi- 
nence he  had  lost.  The  capacity  to  do  these  things  was  still  pre- 
served to  him,  and  perpetuated  to  his  whole  posterity. 

CHAPTER  XIL 

THE  CTJRSE  TJPOIf  THE  SERPENT — THE  SORROWS  OF  THE  WOMAN  — 
AND   THE   CURSE   UPON   THE   GROUND  FOR  MAN'S   SAKE. 

**  God  made  not  death :  neither  hath  he  pleasure  in  the  destruction  of  the 
living.  For  he  created  all  things  that  they  might  have  their  being :  and 
the  generations  of  the  world  were  healthful ;  and  there  was  no  poison 
of  destruction  in  them,  nor  the  kingdom  of  death  upon  them.  But  un- 
godly men  with  their  works  and  words  called  it  to  them." — Wisdom 
of  SoloTtion,.     Chap.  i.  13  — 16, 

The  circumstances  of  the  fall  of  Adam  and  his  expulsion  from 
Eden,  were  attended  by  other  calamities,  to  which  it  is  requisite 
to  refer.  A  curse  was  pronounced  upon  the  serpent,  the  sorrows 
of  the  woman,  in  conception  and  parturition,  were  to  be  multiplied, 
and  the  ground  was  cursed  that  man  might  eat  of  it,  in  toil  and 
sorrow  all  the  days  of  his  life.  These  subjects  are  thus  set  forth 
in  the  sacred  narrative :  — 

"  And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  serpent,  Because  thou  hast 
done  this,  thou  art  cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast 
of  the  field :  and  upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou 
eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life.  And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee 
and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed:  it  shall  bruise 
thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel.  Unto  the  woman  he  said, 
I  will  greatly  multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception :  in  sorrow 
shalt  thou  bring  forth  children:  and  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy 
husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.  And  unto  Adam  he  said, 
Because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto  the  voice  of  thy  wife,  and  hast 
eaten  of  the  tree,  of  which  I  commanded  thee,  saying.  Thou  shalt 
not  eat  of  it :  cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake ;  in  sorrow  shalt 
thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life.    Thorns  and  thistles  shall  it 


142  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

bring  forth  to  thee  ;  and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field.  In 
the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread  till  thou  return  unto  the 
ground."    (Gen.  iii.  14  - 19.) 

The  leading-  idea  presented  in  this  narrative,  is  the  curse.  In 
what  sense  is  this  to  be  understood  ?  That  disastrous  consequences 
followed  the  transgression,  cannot  be  doubted :  but  were  they  tlie 
natural  result  of  disobedience,  or  the  specific  infliction  of  the  Al- 
mighty ?  The  latter  is  the  common  idea,  though  the  history  does 
not  say  so.  To  the  serpent  God  said,  "  Thou  art  cursed  above 
all  cattle,"  and  to  the  man  he  said,  "  Cursed  is  the  ground  for 
thy  sake : "  thus  it  simply  represents  God  as  declaring  its  existence, 
and  not  as  producing  it.  He  mercifully  revealed  the  state,  but  did 
not  inflict  it.  Calamity  follows  sin,  as  death  does  poison,  but  as 
God  does  not  originate  the  sin,  or  administer  the  poison,  he  cannot 
be  chargeable  with  the  calamity  or  the  death.  And  although  he 
is  described  as  saying  to  the  woman,  "  I  will  greatly  multiply  thy 
sorrows,"  under  certain  events ;  yet,  it  was  not  the  sorrow,  con- 
sidered in  itself,  but  the  multiplication  of  it,  which  was  the  evil  an- 
nounced. Sorrow,  it  would  appear,  attended  these  events  under 
the  best  condition  of  humanity,  but  it  was  now  to  be  increased ; 
and  God  is  represented  as  its  author :  but,  under  the  circumstances, 
may  not  this  have  been  a  blessing  ?  We  can  easily  conceive  a 
wise  Providence  placing  difficulties  in  the  way  of  attaining,  what 
a  degenerate  mind  thinli;s  to  be  desirable,  in  order  to  promote  some 
genuine  good.  Pains  and  trials  are  no  proofs  of  God's  displeasure ; 
we  know  that  they  tend  to  soften  and  humiliate,  and  so  to  bless ; 
and,  therefore,  the  multiplying  of  the  woman's  sorrows  may  come 
within  the  scope  of  mercy  rather  than  malediction. 

An  idea  that  God  became  angry  with  the  human  race,  wlien  the 
first  man  transgressed,  very  extensively  prevails.  The  above  pas- 
sages are  considered  to  declare  it.  But  this  cannot  be  correct. 
Anger  is  no  attribute  of  God;  it  must  be<as  foreign  to  the  Divine 
Nature  as  sin  itself ;  and  therefore,  those  passages  of  Scripture  in 
which  it  is  predicated  of  him,  are  designed,  rather  to  express  the 
aspect,  under  which  he  appears  to  perverted  minds,  than  to  declare 
a  genuine  truth.  To  the  jaundiced  eye,  all  things  are  yellow ;  but 
they  are  not  really  so,  it  is  only  an  appearance,  arising  from  the 
action  of  physical  disease.  The  moral  disorders  of  men  cause  them 
to  view  the  character  and  providences  of  God,  under  an  air  con- 
trary to  their  reality.  We  never  read  of  God  being  angry,  or  de- 
claring a  curse,  but  in  connection  with  something  disobedient  on 


ANGER    NO    ATTRIBUTE    OF   GOB.  143 

the  part  of  man.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  true,  that  he  ap- 
pears angry,  but  it  cannot  be  true  that  he  is  so.  If  we  desire  sen- 
sible information  concerning  the  felicities  of  heaven,  the  reasona- 
ble course  is,  to  consult  those  who  have  experienced  some  antepast 
of  its  happiness,  througli  an  obedience  to  its  laws.  How  unwise 
then  is  it  to  seek,  in  those  passages  of  the  Word,  which  are  ad- 
dressed to  the  wicked,  only  in  accommodation  to  their  perverted 
views,  real  truths  concerning  the  Divine  character.  The  fire  by 
wliich  Sodom  was  destroyed,  is  said  to  have  come  down  from  heav- 
en ;  (Gen.  xix.  24 ;)  but  heaven  is  not  really  the  reservoir  of  that 
fire,  which  punishes  and  destroys  the  wicked ;  nevertheless  it  is  so 
said,  because  it  so  appeared  to  that  abandoned  people.  In  him  there 
is  no  fury :  (Isaiah  xxvii.  4:)  and  the  Psalmist  says  of  him,  "With 
the  upright  man,  thou  wilt  show  thyself  upright ;  with  the  pure, 
thou  wilt  show  thyself  pure ;  and  with  the  fro  ward,  thou  wilt  show 
thyself  froward,"     (Psalm  xviii,  25,  26.) 

If  God  were  angry  at  any  time,  he  would  be  imperfect,  for  anger 
is  an  infirmity  in  man.  If  he  were  once  angry,  he  must  be  always 
angry,  because  he  is  unchangeable.  If  he  be  at  all  angry,  he 
must  be  infinitely  so,  because  all  in  him  is  infinite.  How  are  the 
ideas  that  he  is  infinitely  angry  and  infinitely  loving  to  be  recon- 
ciled ?  It  cannot  be  done  so  long  as  both  are  considered  to  be 
realities. 

To  imagine  that  God  can  become  angry,  is  to  suppose  him  liable 
to  disappointment,  and  consequently,  that  man  can  do  something 
which  He  had  not  foreseen.  But  how  impossible  is  this !  The 
whole  Scripture  is  constructed  on  the  principle  that  "  God  is  love : " 
this  attribute  is  infinite  in  him,  and  so  necessarily  excludes  every 
opposite  sentiment.  He  has  declared  that  he  loveth  man  with  an 
"  everlasting  love."  (Jerem.  xxxi.  3.)  How,  then,  can  he  be 
angry,  and  curse  both  him,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is 
placed  ?  He  has  told  us  to  "  love  our  enemies,  to  bless  them  that 
curse  us,  and  do  good  to  them  that  hate  us."  (Matt.  v.  44.)  Can 
we  doubt  that  he  will  do  to  us,  that  which  he  has  commanded  us 
to  do  to  one  another  ?  If  he  only  loved  those  who  loved  him,  he 
would  resemble  "  sinners,  for  they  also  love  those  that  love  them.** 
(Luke  vi.  32.) 

The  excellence  and  beauty  of  the  human  character  consists  in 
Its  resemblance  of  the  divine  perfections.  "  Be  ye  perfect  as  your 
father  in  heaven  is  perfect;"  (Matt.  v.  48.)  "Be  ye  merciful  as 
your  father  in  heaven  is  merciful."    (Luke  vi.  36.)    Still,  man*s 


144  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

highest  attainments  in  these  imperishable  virtues,  are  but  fliiFit 
shadows  and  images  of  the  divine  purity.  In  him,  every  excellence 
is  infinite :  nor  are  their  sweetness  and  placidity  to  be  disturbed  ; 
their  immutability  are  not  to  be  changed  by  human  disobedience. 
God  "knoweth  our  frame  and  remembereth  that  we  are  du^^t," 
(Psalm  ciii.  14  ;)  and,  with  this  knowledge  and  remembrance,  "  km 
mercy  endureth  forever."  The  good  man  realizes  tlie  evidences 
of  this  fact  in  his  own  experience  ;  the  bad  man  does  not,  because 
of  his  perverted  nature.  All  the  displays  of  divine  love  are  to 
induce  men  to  become  wise  and  happy.  The  wicked  are  made  to 
feel  the  influence  of  this  love,  in  the  restraints  which  it  mercifully 
imposes  upon  their  vicious  pursuits,  and  so  the  very  goodness 
which  God  would  promote,  is  felt  by  them,  in  those  restraints,  as 
if  he  were  unfolding  his  anger. 

An  enlightened  survey  of  nature  presents  no  intimation  of  the 
anger  of  God :  the  reason  is,  because  there  is  no  such  principle  in 
his  character.*  The  universe  furnishes  no  analogy  suggestive  of 
such  a  thought.  The  sun  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  nearest 
emblem  of  his  Deity :  hence  he  is  called  "  a  sun."  (Psalm 
Ixxxiv.  11.)  But  there  is  nothing  observable  in  that  glorious 
luminary,  which  can  be  said  to  answer  to  the  notion  of  the  divine 
anger.  Lowering  and  darkness  are  not  in  him :  such  phenomena 
are  occasioned  by  the  interposition  of  clouds,  and  the  diurnal 
motion  of  the  earth.  The  sun  forever  shines  in  brightness  and 
in  beauty.  He  never  frowns,  even  upon  the  -wicked :  he  shines 
upon  the  evil  and  the  good :  and  so  it  is  with  the  divine  character : 
anger  is  opposed  to  all  that  is  divine,  but  it  is  predicated  of  God, 
because  man,  in  an  inverted  state,  sees  him  so.  The  wicked  man 
thinks  that  God  must  be  angry  with  the  transgressors  of  his  law, 
because  he  believes  that  if  he  were  in  God*s  place,  he  should  be 
so  ;  and  so,  as  an  evil  being,  he  certainly  would,  but  this  is  not  the 
character  of  God.  In  a  perverted  state,  spiritual  and  holy  things 
appear  contrary  to  their  reality,  as  the  sun  seems  red  and  fiery, 
when  beheld  through  a  murky  atmosphere. 

This  is  a  principle  which  should  not  be  overlooked,  in  consider- 
ing those  passages  of  revelation,  in  which  God  is  spoken  of  as 
being  angry,  sending  forth  his  wrath,  and  executing  vengeance. 

*  It  is  sometimes  said, 

"  A  God  all  mercy,  is  a  God  unjust ;  " 
but  this  is  ^^  ixn^reasoriable  and  perverse  assertio.i^ :  the  truth  is,  ^hat  if 
he  werg  ^^o^  all  mercy,  he  would  be  unjust. 


THE    CONDEMNATION    OF    TITE    SERPENT,    ETC.  145 

God  is  the  author  of  the  laws  of  order ;  if  man  transgress  them, 
disastrous  consequences  follow,  but  of  these,  man,  and  not  God,  is 
the  author.  The  serpent  was  told  that  it  was  cursed,  because  it 
had  transgressed.  The  ground  was  pronounced  to  be  cursed  for 
man's  sake,  because  the  man,  now  fallen,  may  be  presumed  to  have 
withheld  from  it  those  orderly  labors  which  are  necessary  to  main- 
tain its  fertility.  The  sorrows  of  the  woman  were,  under  certain 
circumstances,  to  be  multiplied,  because,  by  a  withdrawing  of  the 
mind  from  tlie  divine  guidance,  some  natural  law  of  the  body 
might  have  been  infringed.  There  is,  then,  no  necessity  for  fixing 
the ,  authorship  of  such  calamities  on  God,  in  any  other  way,  than 
as  an  appearance,  even  if  the  statements  of  them  were  to  be 
regarded  in  a  literal  sense :  so  far  as  they  are  evils,  they  are 
fairly  and  rationally  chargeable  on  transgressors  only.  But  let  us 
examine  some  of  the  particulars,  in  which  these  curses  are  said  to 
have  consisted. 

Of  the  serpent  it  is  written,  "  Upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and 
dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days  of  thy  life,  and  I  will  put  enmity 
between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed." 
It  is  true,  that  some  serpents  of  natural  history  may  be  said  to  go 
upon  their  belly  ;  and,  also  that  all  civilized  society,  usually  asso- 
ciate with  tjie  idea  of  them  a  sentiment  of  disgust  But  it  is  not 
true,  that  any  eat  dust  all  the  days  of  their  life  ;  or  indeed,  eat 
dust  at  all :  the  food  of  serpents  consists  of  young  birds,  mice, 
frogs,  and  fruit.  Nor  is  there  any  evidence  to  show  that  the  form, 
habits,  and  instinct,  by  which  they  are  now  distinguished,  were 
not  those  with  which  they  were  originally  endowed.*  No  con- 
dition, into  which  an  animal  is  created,  really  comes  within  the 
idea  of  an  almighty  curse.  All  are  as  happy  as  their  organization 
will  admit  of,  nor  are  any  of  them  sensible  of  any  deficiency, 
arising  from  an  inelegance  of  form  or  filthiness  of  habit.  Serpents 
which  crawl  without  legs,  have  no  sense  of  inferiority  to  the 
saurians  which  have  them ;  and  commentators  are  not  agreed  as 
to  which  kind  it  was,  which  received  the  curse  :  nor  can  they  ever 
be  so :  there  is  no  data  for  determining  the  problem.     The  difR- 

*  Many  things  have  been  related  to  set  forth  the  subtlety  of  the 
serpent  (see  Cruden,  Art.  Ser.),  but  some  are  mere  puerilities,  —  and 
others  are  evidently  false,  nor  is  there  any  fact  established  to  show  that 
they  possess  any  remarkable  sagacity.  Their  character  for  cunning  and 
deceit,  has  been  derived  from  its  description  in  the  temptation,  and  not 
from  natural  history.  It  was  the  serpent  that  was  subtle,  not  the  whole 
species  so  denominated. 
13 


146  Am^DfiLtrvrAN  irrsroirr. 

culty  is  considerably  increased,  when  it  is  asked,  Why  the  scrperA 
should  Irave  been  cursed  at  all,  when-  it  did  not  really  effect  the? 
seduction,  but  the  devil  who  had  either  entered  into  it,  or  assumed 
its  shape  ?  The  only  way  of  avoiding  the  embarrassments  which 
attend  such  considerations,  is,  at  once  to  concede  its  allegorical 
signification. 

The  circumstance  of  the  Lord  having  spoken  to  the  serpent^ 
most  certainly  shows  such  to  be  the  case.  Man  cannot  conceive 
the  idea,  which  the  literal  statement  expresses.  But,  taking  the 
serpent  to  be  a  representative  of  the  sensual  principle  of  man,  we 
can  understand  the  fact  intended  to  be  revealed'.  Under  such  a: 
view  of  it,  we  see,  that  by  the  Lord  speaking  to  the  serpent  was 
denoted,  that  the  man  was  now  instructed  by  the  Lord  that  his 
sensual  principle  had  produced  the  fall ;  and  therefore,  it  is  said 
to  have  been  cursed  above  all  beasts  ;  thus  thut  all  the  affections^ 
by  which  man  had  been  happily  distinguished,  were  now  become 
partakers  of  a  conmion  corruption,  but  that  the  serpent  was  sunk 
into  deeper  degradation  than  the  rest.  It  is  now  first  described  as 
going  upon  its  belly,  because  it  had  now  first  ceased  to  look  up- 
wards to  heavenly  things;  it  no  longer  walked  uprightly,  but 
crawled  close  to  worldly  and  terrestrial  objects,  when  dust  became 
its  meat,  because  it  now  began  to  live  on  earthly  and  corporeal 
loves.  The  enmity  between  it  *  and  the  woman  with  her  seed, 
denoted  the  separation  then  effected,  between  the  sensual  princi- 
ple, and  the  heavenly  selfhood  which  the  Lord  created,  with  all 
the  things  of  faith  thereto  belonging.  Every  one  knows  that  such 
separation  exists.  The  apostle  referred  to  it  when  he  said,  "  The 
flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh : 
and  these  are  contrary  one  to  the  other : "  (Gal.  v.  17 :)  and  also  in 
the  declaration,  "  When  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me." 
(Rom.  vii.  21.)  These  are  the  common  experiences  of  religious 
men,  which  practically  show  the  enmity  between  the  serpent  and 
the  woman  with  her  seed. 

But  to  the.  woman  it  was  said,  "  I  will  greatly  multiply  thy  con- 
ception ;  in  sorrow  shalt  thou  bring  forth  children ;  and  thy  desire 
shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over  thee."  This,  like 
the  malediction  on  the  serpent,  can  only  be  satisfactorily  under- 

*  Dr.  A.  Clarke,  says,  "It  is  yet  to  be  discovered  that  the  serpentine 
race  have  any  peculiar  enmity  against  mankind,  nor  is  there  any  proof 
that  men  hate  serpents  more  than  they  do  other  noxious  animals.  But 
we  are  not  to  look  for  merely  literal  meanings  here.*' 


SCIENCE   AVERTS    A    SUPPOSED    CURSE.  147 

Rtoofl  in  a  spiritual  sense.  Inquiry  has  resulted,  in  showing  that 
the  former  part  of  this  announcement  does  not  universally  apply : 
and  it  would  be  somewhat  difficult  to  prove  how  the  latter  part  of 
it  Gomes  within  the  meaning  of  a  curse.  Although  it  may  be 
admitted,  that  the  fall  infringed  certain  laws,  which  so  affected  the 
female  constitution,  as  to  increase  the  natural  sufferings  attending 
parturition,  yet,  it  is  well  known,  that  they  are  very  unequal  in 
their  severity,  which  they  should  not  be  on  the  supposition  ctf  their 
being  a  diviae  infliction,  and,  if  God  be  impartial  in  its  distribu- 
tion. Montaigne  says,  "This  curse,  as  it  is  called,  applies  only 
to  a  certain  species  of  females ;  whole  nations  of  females  being 
•entirely  free  from  it"  {Essays,  i.  c.  14.)  Another  writer  observes, 
*'  Whatever  may  be  the  cause  or  causes,  the  fact  seems  to  be,  that 
women  of  color  have  easier  parturition,  in  general,  than  white 
Europeans."  *  Travellers  assert  that  it  is  comparatively  easy 
among  the  Indians,  under  the  equator,  and  particularly  in  Tartary.f 
Goldsmith  states,  "  The  women  of  Africa  always  deliver  them- 
selves, and  are  well  in  a  few  hours  after,"  |  Thus  it  is  evident 
that  climate  and  physical  constitution  have  very  much  to  do  with 
this  matter ;  and  the  discoveries  of  science  §  have  made  great 
progress  towards  affording  entire  relief,  under  what  is  usually 
found  to  be  so  painful  in  the  northern  regions  of  the  world.  Sup- 
posing the  application  of  such  discoveries  to  become  general, 
which  is  by  no  means  unreasonable,  since  a  great  number  of  par- 
ticular cases  have  already  occurred,  then,  what  is  to  become  of 
the  idea  that  the  sufferings  were  the  result  of  execration  ?  Must 
we  believe  that  it  was  inflicted  for  a  time  only,  and,  that  God  has 
at  last  mercifully  enabled  men  to  discover  a  physical  means,  which, 
by  putting  a  stop  to  its  existence,  enabled  them  to  determine  the 
period  of  its  duration  ?  This  would  hardly  be  satisfactory  ;  nor, 
indeed,  can  any  other  view  of  the  subject,  besides  that  which 
brings  us  back  to  the  acknowledgment  of  its  symbolic  character. 

*  White's  Regular  Gradations  in  Man,  p.  73. 

t  Terry's  Voyage  to  India,  sect,  xvii,  p.  430 ;  and  Thevenot,  part  iiL 
ch.  24,  p.  47. 

X  History  of  the  Earth,  &c.  vol.  ii.  p.  47- 

§  The  use  of  chloroform  is  here  referred  to.  When  first  introduced 
into  the  practice  of  the  accoucheur,  it  was  vehemently  objected  to  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  clergy  of  Scotland  and  others,  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  unlawful  to  prevent  the  due  course  of  that  which  God  had  pro- 
nounced to  be  a  curse.  Many  pamphlets  were  written  in  defence  of  this 
absurd  opinion. 


148  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

The  declaration  that  the  woman's  desire  should  be  towards  her 
nusband,  *  will  hardly  be  construed  by  the  chaste  into  a  melan- 
choly consequence.  Such  will  consider  a  steady  and  undivided 
affection  to  be  among  their  best  enjoyments  ;  and  are  there  not 
multitudes  of  instances  in  which  it  would  have  been  a  soMd  bless- 
ing- ?  If  the  circumstance  of  tlie  woman's  desire  being-  towards 
her  husband,  were  a  portion  of  a  curse,  then  the  existence  of  an 
opposite  affection  may  be  inferred  to  have  been  a  felicity,  and,  in 
that  case,  how  came  the  enactment,  "Thou  shalt  iK)t  commit 
adultery  ?  "  To  interpret  it  as  a  curse,  takes  reason  far  beyond  its 
depth  and  quite  submerges  it.  But  what  is  to  be  said  of  the  asser- 
tion, "  He  shall  rule  over  thee  ? "  As  Christianity  is  ti-ue,  that 
statement,  even  supposing  it  to  treat  of  the  relative  position  of  tlie 
sexes,  cannot  mean  to  declare  the  dominion  of  a  master,  but  the 
guidance  of  a  protector.  Where,  then,  is  the  malediction  ?  If 
these  things  are  calamities  to  the  woman,  how  were  they  to  affect 
the  man  ?  He  can  hardly  regard  the  information  by  which  he 
learns  the  intense  attachment  of  his  mfe,  and  the  dignity  of  his 
own  position  in  respect  to  her,  as  indications  of  anathema.  It 
never  once  occurs  to  him  that  woman's  undivided  love,  or  that  the 
protection  which  he  extends  to  her,  are  the  results  of  an  almighty 
curse  !  They  cannot  be  so.  It  is  plain  that  to  view  the  history 
in  such  a  light,  is  to  mistake  its  purpose  :  and  even  if  tliis  were 
less  obvious  than  it  is,  intelligent  piety  would  be  compelled  to 
acknowledge,  that  human  degradation  and  its  painful  consequence 
were  not  of  God,  but  from  man,  by  his  perversion  of  God's  good 
things. 

The  narrative  is  intelligible  and  satisfactory,  only  when  viewed 
in  a  spiritual  seiKe.  The  circumstances  related  in  it,  represent 
those  spiritual  consequences,  which  the  fall  induced  upon  the  peo- 
ple of  the  church  of  those  most  ancient  times. 

It  has  been  shown,  that  the  woman,  who  was  given  to  tlie  man, 
when  it  was  discovered  not  to  be  good  that  he  should  be  alone, 
was  the  symbol  of  that  selfhood  which  the  Lord  mercifully  granted, 

*  This  is  sometimes  construed  to  mean,  "  thy  desires  shall  be  thy  hus- 
band's," a  dative  for  a  genitive  case.  But,  admitting  this,  which  never- 
theless is  not  the  true  idea  of  the  original,  an  aifectioiiate  wife  would 
rarely  consider  her  reception  of  the  orderly  desires  of  her  husband  any 
very  deplorable  circumstance.  She  would,  most  likely,  regard  it  as  a 
means  of  binding  herself  more  closely  to  his  love.  But  are  not  the  thou- 
sands of  instances  which  exist,  in  which  his  desires  are  not  so  received, 
proofs  that  such  is  not  the  meaixing  of  the  sentence  ? 


THE   SORROWS    OP   THE   WOMAN.  149 

when  discontent  under  the  divine  guidance  began  to  appear.  (See 
page  111.)  This  selfhood,  like  a  pure  and  lovely  woman,  was  then 
good  and  innocent,  being  vivified  by  the  Lord,  But  it  consented 
to  the  persuasion  of  the  serpent,  and,  consequently,  fell.  Hereby, 
that  selfhood,  which  had  primarily  directed  itself  to  the  Lord,  and 
was  filled  with  the  delight  of  heavenly  things,  was  turned  towards 
the  world,  and  became  enamored  of  its  pleasures.  Its  character 
was  changed,  and  sensual  influences  were  so  brought  to  bear  upon 
it,  as  to  endanger  the  ease  and  freedom  with  which  spiritual  things 
had  previously  been  conceived  in  the  mind,  and  brought  forth  in 
the  conduct..  Her  sorrows  were  to  be  multiplied  *  in  conception 
and  bringing  forth :  the  sorrows  in  conception,f  were  the  difficul- 
ties that  were  now  to  be  experienced  in  the  apprehending  of  inte- 
rior truth ;  and  the  sorrows  in  bringing  forth,  were  the  pains  and 
temptations  that  were  to  be  endured  in  introducing  them  to  life ; 
the  Lord  is  said  to  be  the  author  of  them,  because  they  become 
perceptible,  through  his  pressing,  as  it  were,  to  be  received  and 
loved.  Every  one  knows  these  sorrows  to  exist,  and  that  they  are 
the  peculiar  inheritances  of  the  fallen  selfhood  of  humanity.  In 
this  sense,  the  statements  are  of  universal  application,  and  experi- 
ence furnishes  the  interpretation.  The  same  is  true  of  the  asser- 
tion, "  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall  rule  over 
thee." 

Before  the  fall,  man  had  wisdom  and  intelligence,  and  these  are 
then  denominated  man ;  but  by  that  event,  those  blessings  were 
corrupted,  and  reason,  another  principle,  took  their  place.  Hence, 
it  was  called,  husband,  and  not  man.  The  change  of  terms  de- 
notes an  alteration  in  condition.  Every  expression  in  God's  Word 
is  peculiarly  significant.  That  which  had  been  man,  was  now 
husband :  —  that  which  had  been  wisdom,  now  was  reason. 
Hence,  by  her  desire  being  towards  her  husband,  is  denoted,  the 
continual   inclinations  of  the   selfhood  toward  the   reason  with 

*  It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  the  sorrows  were  now  to  be  multi- 
plied ;  thus  implying  that  they  had,  to  some  extent,  previously  existed. 
The  reason  is,  because  the  fall  was  not  a  sudden  but  gradual  decline, 
and  now  the  severity  of  the  consequences  were  in  the  process  of  being 
increased. 

f  "  Conception."  The  septuagint  version  omits  this  clause  altogether; 
perhaps,  because  the  translators  inaccurately  supposed  it  was  sufficiently 
comprehended  in  what  follows.  This,  howerer,  neither  the  original,  nor 
the  spiritual  sense  allows. 

13* 


150  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

which  it  is  conjoined 5  and,  by  bis  having  "rule  over  her,"  isf 
signified,  the  dominion  which  that  reason  ought  to  exercise. 

In  reference  to  the  man,  it  is  said,  "  Cursed  is  the  ground  for 
thy  sake,  in  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life. 
Thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth ;  and  thou  shalt  eat  the 
herb  of  the  field.  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread." 
This  is  usually  interpreted  to  mean,  that  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
was  impaired,  so  that,  from  henceforth,  man  should  not  derive  his 
natural  subsistence  from  it  without  laborious  cultivation :  and  also, 
that  during  the  raising  of  the  crops,  he  should  be  inflicted  with 
anxieties,  arising  from  the  fear  of  mildew,  insects,  unfavorable 
seasons,  and  other  causes  by  which  their  safety  may  be  endangered. 
Now,  it  is  true,  that  such  labor  is  required,  and  that  such  anxieties 
exist,  but  we  cannot  conceive  them  to  have  spining  out  of  divine 
anathema !  They  are  not  universally  felt.  They  pertain,  directly, 
only  to  that  portion  of  mankind  whose  employment  is  agriculture. 
There  are  whole  classes  of  society  entirely  exempt  from  them. 
Moreover,  the  inflictions  are  very  unequal  on  those  by  whom  they 
are  experienced  ;  they  are  found  to  vary  very  much  with  latitude, 
locality,  and  other  physical  causes.  With  how  little  labor,  and 
with  what  an  absence  of  solicitude,  is  abundance  of  corn  produced 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile !  That  river  does  for  Egypt,  much  of 
that  which  manual  labor  is  obliged  to  supply  in  other  countries. 
It  has  always  been  celebrated  for  its  fertility.  "  Joseph  gathered 
corn  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  very  much,  until  he  left  numbering  ; 
for  it  was  without  number."  (Gen.  xli.  49.)  Pocock  informs  us, 
that  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  temper  the  richness  of  the  soil 
by  bringing  sand  to  it.  And  Herodotus,  speaking  of  Babylonia, 
says,  "  Of  all  the  countries  which  have  come  within  my  observa- 
tion, this  is  far  the  most  fruitful  in  corn.  The  soil  is  so  particu- 
larly well  adapted  for  it,  that  it  never  produces  less  than  two  hun- 
dred fold ;  in  seasons  which  are  remarkably  favorable,  it  will 
sometimes  rise  to  three  hundred."  (Clio,  cxciii.)  Norway  is  the 
reverse  of  this  fertility,  its  inhabitants,  therefore,  raise  scarcely 
any  grain  or  vegetables  >they  import  most  of  what  they  use,  and 
in  seasons  of  scarcity,  are  obliged  to  mix  the  ground  bark  of  trees 
with  their  bread.  (Goldsmith's  Geography.)  These  facts  show, 
that  the  differing  conditions  of  the  land  render  manual  labor,  for 
the  production  of  food,  very  unequal  in  its  amount :  which  is  very 
difficult  to  understand,  if  the  universal  ground  were  cursed,  in 
order  to  exact  a  laborious  toil  from  man,  to  render  it  productive. 


THORNS   AND   THISTLES.  151 

Why  should  it  not  have  been  uniform  in  its  action  ?  There  is  no 
hint  given,  that  it  was  to  be  partial  in  its  operation ;  which  we 
think  would  have  been  the  case,  if  the  literal  sense  had  been 
intended  for  our  faith.  Moreover,  these  differences  are  traceable 
to  natural  causes,*  and  the  labor  which  an  inferior  soil  requires, 
may  be  considerably  reduced  by  the  appliances  of  art.t  But  the 
ground  was  to  bring  forth  "  thorns  and  thistles,"  and  it  does  so. 
But  when  was  it  otherwise  ?  It  cannot  mean,  that  it  was  then,  for 
the  first  time,  to  do  so.  The  species  are  not  named  :  but  geology 
shows  us  the  existence  of  some  that  must  have  flourished  long 
anterior  to  the  creation  of  man.  We  feel  it  difficult  to  reconcile 
these  facts  with  the  common  notion  of  God  having,  six  thousand 
years  ago,  pronounced  a  curse  upon  the  ground,  for  the  punish- 
ment of  his  people.  It  is  a  shallow  inference,  and  not  a  divine 
truth.  The  idea  of  God  having,  upon  the  one  hand,  taken  from 
the  ground  that  which  had  rendered  it  luxuriant  in  the  production 
of  human  food  ;  and,  upon  the  other,  to  have  imparted  that  which 
was  to  make  it  fertile  in  whins  and  briars,  cannot  be  rationally 
sustained:  nor  is  it  requisite  to  uphold  the  character  of  God's 
justice,  or  to  maintain  the  divine  purpose  of  the  narrative.  It  was 
written  with  an  entirely  different  design,  |  which  we  will  endeavor 
briefly  to  explain. 

By  the  ground  is  denoted,  that  orderly  external  of  man,  by 
which  he  was  distinguished,  when  the  development  of  his  religious 
character  became  complete.  (See  page  65.)  By  the  fall,  its  ex- 
cellence was  necessarily  impaired,  and  so  it  became  less  prolific 
in  the  good  things  of  use.  "  To  eat  of  it  in  sorrow,"  denotes,  to 
live  from  it  unhappily  ;  "  to  eat,"  is  to  partake  of,  and  so  to  live  ; 
and  every  one  may  see,  that  to  appropriate  the  false  sentiments 
and  evil  affections,  which  had  now  taken  hold  of  the  external  man, 
must  needs  have  been  attended  with  anxiety  and  sorrow.  Expe- 
rience shows  that  it  is  so,  and  satisfactorily  explains  the  passage. 

The  ground  was  now  to  bring  forth  "thorns  and  thistles,"  to 
denote,  that  the  external  man  would  now  engender  evil  and  false 

*  It  may  be  said  that  God  is  the  authol  of  those  natural  causes :  so  far 
as  this  is  the  case,  he  operates  in  the  way  of  general  blessing,  and  never 
in  the  way  of  partial  curse. 

t  Consult  Professor  Johnson's  Work  on  Agricultural  Chemistry ;  also 
Liebeg's. 

X  St.  Austin  says,  "  No  Christian  will  venture  to  affirm  that  these 
things  are  not  to  be  taken  in  a  figurative  sense."  — Pre/ace  to  his  Twelve 
Books  on  thejirst  three  chapters  of  Genesis. 


152  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

principles.  Evils  are  the  thorns,  and  falses  are  the  thistles. 
Hence  the  Lord,  when  treating  of  the  distinction  between  the 
good  and  the  evil,  and  the  faithful  and  disbelievers,  said,  "Do 
men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?  "  (Matt.  vii.  16.) 
To  "  eat  the  herb  of  the  field,"  signified,  that  he  would  live  low 
and  vilely ;  and  "  to  eat  bread  in  the  sweat  of  the  face,"  was  to 
partake  of  celestial  things,  only  through  toil  and  exertion.  These 
ideas  could  be  easily  proved  by  citations  from  the  Word,  but  we 
cannot  dwell  on  the  detail.  The  reasonableness  of  these  views, 
brief  as  they  are,  will  commend  themselves  to  the  thinker ;  they 
Avho  will  not  think  need  not  expect  to  know. 

From  what  has  now  been  stated,  it  will  be  seen,  that  by  the 
condemnation  of  the  serpent,  is  denoted,  the  evils  which  the  sen- 
sual principle  had  brought  upon  itself:  by  the  sentence  upon  the 
woman,  was  signified,  the  evils  to  which  the  voluntary  selfhood 
had  become  attached ;  and  by  the  anathema  upon  the  man,  was 
represented,  the  evils  to  which  his  intellectual  part  had  consented ; 
these  respective  evils  were  the  curses  ;  and,  as  man  brought  the 
evils,  so  he  must  have  been  the  author  of  the  malediction ;  and 
hence  his  sufferings  therefrom. 

CHAPTER  Xm. 

CAIN  AND   ABEL,    WITH   THEIK   OCCUPATIONS. 

•"  It  is  consonant  to  the  history  of  Moses  to  suppose,  that  God  wished 
him  to  give  mystical  representations  of  the  more  subUme  subjects  of 
theology  ;  because  that  style  of  writing  was  suited  to  the  hieroglyphical 
learning  in  which  he  had  been  instructed."  —  Dr.  Spencer,  De  Legibus 
Hebrceorum. 

The  history  by  which  we  are  informed  of  the  births  of  Cain 
and  Abel,  with  their  occupations,  is  exceedingly  simple  and  com- 
pendious. "  Adam  knew  Eve  his  wife  ;  and  she  conceived,  and 
bare  Cain,  and  said,  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord.  And  she 
again  bare  his  brother,  Abel.  And  Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep, 
but  Cain  was  a  tiller  of  the  ground."  (Gen.  iv.  1,  2.)  If  we  were 
to  regard  this  as  literal  history,  it  would,  nevertheless,  be  reason- 
able to  think,  that,  as  a  revelation,  something  more  was  designed 
by  it  than  what  first  meets  the  eye  ;  and  this  it  would  be  our  duty 
to  inve'«tigate  and  endeavor  to  learn.  Although  there  might  have 
been,  m  early  society,  such  individuals  as  Cain  and  Abel,  engaged 
in  agricultural  and  pastoral  pursuits,  yet  it  is  difficult  to  suppose 
them  to  be  referred  to,  any  otherwise,  than  as  affording  ground  for 


CAIN    AND    ABEL.  153 

tJie  construction  of  a  symbolic  history,  relating  to  matters  of  a 
much  more  extensive  and  serious  nature  than  the  mere  letter  can 
possibly  express.  As  the  history,  which  precedes  that  of  Cain  and 
Abel,  is  only  representative,  we  think  that  their  history  is  of  a 
similar  character.  The  manner  in  which  those  histories  are  con- 
nected, seems  to  us  to  establish  this  opinion.  As  Adam  is  a 
generic  name,  expressing  the  idea  of  a  community,  then  the  names 
of  Cain  and  Abel,  who  are  described  to  have  descended  from 
them,  must  be  similarly  construed ;  for  a  community  of  persons 
cannot  be  said  to  give  birth  to  individuals,  in  their  general  ca- 
pacity. The  people  of  one  generation  originate  the  people  who 
succeed  them ;  but  each  individual  springs  from  his  own  partic- 
ular parents.  It  would  be  absurd  to  say,  that  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Rome  were  the  father  and  mother  of  Julius  Caesar ;  and  yet 
this  is  very  like  supposing  the  societies,  called  Adam  and  Eve,  to 
have  been  the  personal  parents  of  Cain  and  Abel,  considered  as 
individuals.  One  generation,  called  Adam,  gave  birth  to  other 
generations,  called  Cain  and  Abel ;  but,  as  the  former  were  a 
collection  of  men,  so  were  the  latter :  as  the  former  constituted  a 
church,  which  afterwards  fell,  so  the  latter  constituted  separate 
communities,  which  distinguished  themselves  by  different  religious 
sentiments  and  life. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  single  name  to  be  employed,  to 
express  the  idea  of  a  whole  people.  It  was  customary  among  the 
ancients,  it  is  found  in  the  Scriptures,  and  occasionally,  it  is  had 
recourse  to  in  modern  times.  Thus,  in  countries,  whether  mo- 
narchical or  republican,  the  king,  or  president,  is  named  to  express 
the  acts  and  opinions  of  a  whole  cabinet.  France,  England,  and 
other  countries,  are  sometimes  mentioned,  not  to  signify  their 
geographical  existence,  but  to  denote  their  living  populations.  In 
the  Scriptures,  Egypt,  Judea,  Philistea,  Sidon,  Jerusalem,  and 
many  other  places,  are  mentioned,  not  to  indicate  locality,  but 
their  inhabitants.  Every  one  knows  that  the  single  names  of 
Jacob,  Esau,  Joseph,  Benjamin,  and  other  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham, are  frequently  employed,  not  to  express  individuals,  but  a 
whole  people,  who  were  influenced  and  directed  by  certain  views 
of  a  religious  or  economical  character.  The  following  instances 
will  suffice.  "  I  will  visit  Jacob  according  to  his  ways  ; "  "  Jacob 
shall  rejoice  and  Israel  be  glad ; "  "  He  leadeth  Joseph  like  a 
flock."  Multitudes  of  cases  of  this  kind  may  be  found  in  the 
Scriptures  :  and  those  of  Cain  and  Abel  are  to  be  classed  among 


154 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 


them.  They  do  not  signify  individuals,  but  communities,  in  Avhom 
were  developed  certain  features  of  religious  sentiment  and  feeling. 
They  descended  from  the  people  called  Adam,  and  the  principles 
by  which  they  were  morally  influenced,  were  derived  from  the 
same  source. 

These  statements  will  appear  remarkable  to  all,  who  have  been 
accustomed  to  regard  those  names  as  significant  of  individuals 
only.  Nevertheless,  it  is  evident,  that  at  this  time,  more  than 
four  persons  were  in  existence.  Indeed,  it  is  usual  to  concede 
this  fact,  by  supposing  that  there  might  have  been  other  descend- 
ants of  Adam,  whose  births  are  not  recorded.  But  apart  from  this 
idea,  society  must  have  been  considerable.  Some  reasons  for  this 
opinion  have  been  adduced  above  ;  others  may  now  be  added. 
The  occupations  assigned  to  Cain  and  Abel,  if  understood  in  a  literal 
sense,  require  the  admission  of  this  idea.  Tilling  the  ground,  and 
keeping  sheep,  were  distinctive  employments  that  must  have  sprung 
out  of  the  requirements  of  society.  Although  the  cultivation  of 
a  little  land  might  have  been  required  for  the  maintenance  of  four 
individuals,  yet  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  keeping  of  sheep 
should  have  been  requisite  for  so  limited  a  number.  Such  dis- 
tinction of  employments  would  scarcely  have  been  recorded,  if 
there  had  not  been  society  sufficiently  extensive  to  require  their 
uses.  But  Cain's  attention  was  not  wholly  directed  to  agriculture. 
We  find  that  he  had  acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  art  of  build- 
ing ;  for  he  is  afterwards  described  to  have  erected  a  city  in  the 
land  of  Nod  :  both  this  knowledge  and  the  city,  must  have  been 
called  into  existence  by  the  requirements  of  society.  It  must  have 
been  such  society  that  provided  him  with  his  wife ;  for  there  is  no 
account  of  her  origination. 

But,  for  what  purpose  were  the  sheep  to  be  kept  ?  it  does  not 
appear  that  they  were  used  as  food.  To  suppose  that  they  were 
kept  for  the  sake  of  their  wool,  implies  the  existence  of  much  larger 
society,  than  that  with  which  the  letter  of  the  history  brings  us 
acquainted,  and  to  which' its  uses,  in  the  way  of  being  converted 
into  articles  of  clothing,  must  have  been  well  known.  If  we  con- 
jecture that  it  was  for  sacrificial  purposes  only,  that,  obviously  im- 
plies the  prevalence  of  a  religious  community  for  whose  offerings 
they  were  preserved.  The  offering  of  Cain,  was  of  the  fruit  of  the 
ground.  What  was  this  ?  was  it  brought  in  a  natural  or  prepared 
state  ?  The  original  word,  minchah,  is  thought  to  be  explained  in 
Leviticus,  to  be  an  offering  of  fine  flour,  with  oil  and  frankincense. 


THE    OCCUPATION    OF    CAIN    AND   ABEL,    RELIGIOUS.      155 

(Lev.  ii.  1.  See  Dr.  A.  Clarke.)  If  Cain's  offering  were  really  of 
this  description,  hOAv^an  we  reasonably  account  for  the  existence  of 
those  arts,  by  which  fine  flour  and  oil  were  prepared,  but  on  the  sup- 
position of  society  being  more  numerous  than  is  usually  thought  of? 

The  very  circumstance  of  offerings  being  spoken  of,  unaccom- 
panied by  any  command  enjoining  them,  is  presumptive  evidence, 
that  the  idea  of  such  a  practice  had  been  derived  to  these  brothers, 
from  a  church  or  people,  previously  extant.  Sacrificial  worship 
was  not  commanded  by  God,  nor  is  it  any  spontaneous  offspring  of 
the  human  mind.  It  must  have  originated  out  of  the  perver- 
sion of  some  divine  law  or  institution,  for  it  is  most  unreasonable, 
considered  in  itself;  *  and  therefore,  granting  tlie  offering  of  Abel 
to  have  been  a  natural  sacrifice,  that  fact  implies  the  perversion  of 
some  holier  things  that  had  been  known  to  his  predecessors,  of 
whom  the  letter  furnishes  no  information. 

Both  Cain  and  Abel  brought  offerings  unto  the  Lord :  this  in- 
dicates a  publicity  in  their  worship,  which  idea,  the  notion  of  the 
presence  only  of  the  two  parents  and  two  sons,  is  not  sufficient  to 
supply.  "  The  Hebrew  word  rendered  brought,  is  never  used  with 
respect  to  domestic  or  private  oblations;  but  always  for  public 
sacrifices."  (Bishop  Patrick.)  The  circumstance  then,  of  their 
having  brought  offerings,  obviously  denotes  the  existence  of  society, 
and  consequently,  that  there  were  two  classes  of  them,  each  of 
which  was  most  attentive  to  its  own  views  concerning  them.  But 
the  unquestionable  fact,  that  Adam  was  a  people,  and  not  a  single 
person,  renders  it  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  merely  collateral  cir- 
cumstances, to  prove  that  it  is  the  religious  state  of  society,  and 
not  the  worldly  vocation  of  individuals,  which,  is  represented  by 
the  occupations  of  Cain  and  Abel. 

The  Adamic  church  having  fallen,  in  the  transgression  of  its 
members,  different  views  of  faith  and 'duty  would,  in  the  process 
of  time,  obviously  arise  among  them.  Having  eaten  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge,  they  would  begin  to  think  and  act  from  self.  Self  is 
not  a  uniting,  but  a  dividing  principle.  Under  such  circumstances, 
sectarianism  would  break  out  among  them ;  these,  with  their  dif- 
ferent branches,  would,  for  a  considerable  period,  be  capable  of 
being  traced  to  the  original  stock.    The  fallen  Adamic  church  was 

*  See  Dr.  Magee  on  the  Atonement.  Bishop  Patrick  says,  "It  is  not 
probable  that  Adam  would  have  presumed  to  invent  a  way  of  worship,  by 
killing  beasts  and  burning  their  fat ;  especially  as  we  cannot  perceive  any 
inclination  to  it  in  nature."  _ 


156  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

the  parent  whence  they  all  descended.  It  was  customary,  in  an- 
cient times,  to  speak  of  one  event  of  the  church  as  being  conceived 
and  born  of  another,  and  so  to  form  a  sort  of  genealogy  concern- 
ing its  successive  states,  and  to  give  them  names  accordingly. 
This  is  the  principle  involved  in  the  description  of  Adam's  descend- 
ants. There  is  the  conception  and  birth  of  religious  opinion,  as 
well  as  of  persons.  Every  one  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  Christian  church,  knows  when  the  principles  of  Prot- 
estantism were  born,  and  who  were  their  parents :  and  we  have 
now  only  to  look  abroad  into  society,  and  we  shall  behold  their 
progeny  in  a  hundred  sects.  In  the  church,  one  thing  is,  as  it  were, 
conceived  and  born  of  another  in  the  way  of  spiritual  generation. 
The  apostle  says,  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  and  charity ;  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  charity."  (1  Cor.  xiii.  13.)  Charity,  then,  ac- 
cording to  this  authority,  is  the  first-born  principle  of  the  Christian 
life,  faith  is  next,  and  hope  succeeds.  If  charity  become  extinct 
among  a  people,  the  life  of  faith  is  necessarily  endangered ;  and 
then,  how  feeble  and  precarious  must  be  their  hopes.  It  is  easy 
to  see  how  one  imperfect  state  of  the  church  may,  as  a  parent, 
beget  another :  the  idea  is  distinctly  expressed  in  the  Revelation, 
which  describes  a  woman  as  the  mother  of  harlots :  (Rev.  xvii.  5 :) 
it  plainly  means  a  false  religion,  originating  abandoned  principles. 
Now,  if  the  narrative  of  Cain  and  Abel  is  viewed  under  this  as- 
pect, we  shall  perceive,  that  they  are  names  expressive  of  two  dif- 
ferent classes  of  religious  principles,  which  descended  from  the 
Adamic  people,  after  they  had  partaken  of  the  forbidden  tree.  The 
like  view  is  to  be  taken  of  their  other  descendants.*  This  is  some- 
what evident  from  what  is  stated  of  the  age  of  Adam.  He  is  said 
to  have  lived  eight  hundred  years  after  he  begat  Seth ;  a  circum- 
stance that  may  be  doubted,  Avhen  interpreted  of  an  individual  man, 
but  which  is  very  rational  when  it  is  supposed  to  treat  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  a  religious  dispensation.  Considered  in  this  light, 
parallel  cases  can  be  adduced  from  religious  history.  The  Jewish 
economy  has  lasted  for  nearly  three  thousand  years ;  and  Abraham 
may,  in  a  certain  sense,  be  said  to  have  lived  all  this  time,  in  the 
religious  principles  and  physiognomy  which  have  been  perpetuated 
to  his  descendants.  But  we  must  not  here  anticipate  what  we 
have  to  say  on  the  longevity  of  the  Antediluvian  patriarchs.    It 

*  "  All  the  personages  whose  histories  are  so  earnestly  related  in  East- 
ern Countries,  never  existed,  and  are  nothing  more  than  the  ancient  sym* 
bols  personified."  — Abbe  Plucfie's  History  of  the  Heavens,  vol.  I,  p.  142. 


REPRESENTATIVE    CHARACTERS    OP   CAIN    AND   ABEL.      157 

is  sufficient  now  to  observe,  that  the  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years 
recorded  as  the  duration  of  Adam's  life,  were  significant  of  the 
states  and  periods  of  the  dispensation  so  denominated ;  but  that  it, 
like  the  Protestant  religion  during  the  three  hundred  years  of  its 
existence,*  was  broken  into  a  variety  of  sects,  among  whom  Cain 
and  Abel  were  the  first  and  most  distinguished. 

So  long  as  the  Adamic  dispensation  continued  in  its  integrity, 
all  the  faculties  of  its  people  acted  as  one.  The  will  loved  what 
the  understanding  perceived  to  be  true,  and  they  worked  harmoni- 
ously in  promoting  the  virtues  of  a  holy  life.  But  when  the  people 
lell,  those  two  faculties  ceased  to  be  united.  This  condition  of 
them  is  one  of  the  legacies  which  that  event  has  bequeathed  to  pos- 
terity ;  and  experience  proves  it  to  have  been  faithfully  transmitted. 
We  have  a  distinct  consciousness  that  the  will  and  the  understand- 
ing act  separately  from  each  other.  We  think  one  thing  which 
may  be  true,  that  is  of  the  understanding ;  we  love  another,  which 
may  be  opposite  thereto,  that  }S  of  the  will.  These  two  faculties, 
in  our  unregenerated  state,  do  not  act  in  unison :  they,  so  to  speak, 
turn  their  backs  upon  each  pther  and  look  in  opposite  directions. 
This  fact  is  a  proof  that  man  has  broken  in  upon  the  harmony  of 
his  moral  creation,  and  destroyed  the  unanimity  which  it  originally 
possessed.  Every  one  is  aware  that  in  religious  things  there  are 
some  persons  who  know  truth  much  better  than  they  do  it ;  and 
also,  that  there  are  others  who  feel  truth,  much  more  correctly  than 
they  know  it.  The  understanding  of  the  former  are  always  on  the 
alert  to  seize  on  any  information,  which  is  likely  to  increase  their 
power.  The  will  of  the  latter  will  be  found  docile,  and  responsive 
to  certain  qualities  of  good.  These  distinctive  classes  are  among 
the  results  of  that  separation,  which  has  taken  place  in  those  two 
faculties  of  humanity,  and  they  were  first  displayed  under  the  rep- 
resentative characters  of  Cain  and  Abel.  By  Cain  was  represent- 
ed those  who  intellectually  knew  their  master's  will  but  did  it  not : 
by  Abel  was  denoted,  those  who  felt  goodness  to  be  superior  to 
knowledge,  and  so  cultivated  it  with  the  greatest  ardor.  Such 
classes  have  always  prevailed  within  the  pale  of  a  declining  church. 
The  Lord  informed  us  of  their  existence  among  the  Jews,  by  the 

*  Protestantism  is  referred  to  for  illustration,  because  the  facts  con- 
cerning it  are  better  known  in  this  country.  History ^shows  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  not  to  have  been  exempt  from  similar  divisions.  "What 
is  called  the  Eastern  Church  is  separated  into  three  great  parts,  the  Greek, 
the  Roman,  and  those  who  diflFer  from  both.—  Mosheim,  Cent.  xvi.  cMp.  11. 
14 


158  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

cases  of  the  pharisee  and  the  publican.  (Luke  xviii.  10  - 14.) 
They  both  went  up  to  pray,  but  the  pharisee,  in  the  pride  of  his 
intellect,  tlianked  God  that  he  was  not  as  other  men  are ;  while 
the  publican,  in  the  humility  of  his  heart,  said,  Lord  be  mercifm 
to  me  a  sinner  ;  and  this  man  was  justified  rather  than  the  other. 

Traces  of  similar  characters  are  to  be  found  in  Christendom. 
It  is  well  known  to  observers  that  there  are  those  who  are  self- 
satisfied  with  their  intellectual  possessions ;  who  can  converse 
with  fluency  about  the  things  of  religion;  who  can  argue  its 
positions  with  acuteness,  and  defend  them  with  sagacity  and 
power ;  but  who,  nevertheless,  show,  by  their  conduct  and  beha- 
vior, that  they  have  hard  hearts  and  questionable  morals. 

And  who  is  not  aware  that  there  are  others,  who  are  but  slightly 
acquainted  with  the  doctrinal  sentiments  of  religion ;  and  who  can 
only  converse  imperfectly  about  the  spiritual  truth  of  revelation, 
but  who,  nevertheless,  have  about  them  that  simplicity  of  char- 
acter, which  assures  the  observer,  that  they  love  and  cherish  what 
is  good  ?  The  former  strive  to  conceal  the  deformity  of  their 
character  by  the  brilliancy  of  their  intellect ;  the  latter,  possessing 
no  such  talents,  at  once  let  you  behold  their  hearts,  and  you  see 
that  they  have  respect  for  order  and  for  virtue. 

Now  it  was  two  classes  of  sentiments  of  this  description,  and 
consequently,  of  persons  by  whom  they  were  respectively  held, 
who  came  into  existence  in  the  Adamic  church  under  the  two 
names  of  Cain  and  Abel.  They  both  professed  to  serve  the  Lord, 
but  each  from  a  different  principle,  and  therefore,  with  different 
results. 

But  we  will  endeavor  to  investigate  the  character  of  each,  under 
the  light  of  true  Christian  teaching.     And  first  of  Cain. 

As  the  Adamic  people,  by  eating  of  the  forbidden  tree,  chose 
knowledge  in  preference  to  obedience,  and  so  placed  the  cultiva- 
tion of  intellect  above  the  purification  of  the  heart,  it  is  easy  to 
see,  that  the  first  results  of  such  a  course,  must  have  been  the 
conception  and  birth  of  faith,  —  yea,  faith  only,  as  a  means  of 
acceptance  with  God.  Cain  was  the  representative  of  tliis  princi- 
ple ;  and  consequently,  of  all  those  persons  who  acquired  and 
possessed  it.  The  name,  as  a  Hebrew  word,  denotes  acquisition 
or  possession.  They  believed  that  the  possession  of  religious 
knowledge,  was  more  necessary  to  secure  the  divine  favor,  than 
the  excellency  of  virtuous  life.  They  knew  much,  for  they  were 
tillers  of  the  ground,  — the  planters  of  knowledge  in  the  intellect: 


THE    ERROR    OF    FAITH    ONLY.  159 

but  they  went  to  the  Lord  with  their  understanding  chiefly,  and  so 
attempted  to  serve  him  with  only  one  half  of  their  minds.  They 
neglected  the  duty  required  by  the  invitation,  "  My  son,  give  me 
thy  heart."  (Proverbs  xxiii.  6.)  They  overlooked  the  important 
circumstance  of  knowledge  being  only  a  means  to  virtue  as  an 
end,  and  thus  they  rested  their  salvation  upon  the  faith  of  thought, 
rather  than  upon  the  purity  of  life.  They  did  not  sufficiently 
attend  to  the  fact,  that,  as  light  without  heat  produces  no  fruit,  so 
faith,  without  charity,  can  effect  no  acceptance. 

A  doctrine,  somewhat  of  this  character,  was  propounded  in  the 
Christian  church,  at  the  time  of  what  has  been  called  the  Refor- 
mation. It  is  thus  expressed:  "We  are  accounted  righteous 
before  God,  only  for  the  merits  of  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  by 
faith,  and  not  by  works  and  deservings ;  wherefore,  that  we  are 
justified  by  faith  only,  is  a  most  wholesome  doctrine,  and  very 
full  of  comfort : "  *  but  there  is  no  such  doctrine  as  this  taught  in 
the  Sacred  Scriptures.  They,  indeed,  inculcate  the  necessity  of 
faith,  as  one  of  the  ingredients  of  the  Christian  character ;  but 
they  never,  like  the  above  Article,  represent  it  as  the  exclusive 
virtue :  and  herein  lies  its  error ;  which  the  apostle  sufficie;itly 
exposes,  when  he  says,  "  What  does  it  profit,  my  brethren,  if  a 
man  say  he  has  faith.  Can  faith  save  him  ?  Faith,  if  it  has  not 
works,  is  dead,  being  alone.  Ye  see  how  that  by  works  is  a  man 
justified,  and  not  hy  faith  only.  The  Devils  believe  and  tremble." 
(James  ii.  14-19.)  The  doctrine  o^  faith  only  has  been  very  dis- 
astrous to  the  church,  and  contributed  very  extensively  to  the 
dangers  by  which  she  has  been  assailed.  Although  it  is  now, 
happily,  becoming  a  mere  theory,  which  most  sensible  persons  are 
abandoning,  yet  it  was  not  always  so.  Luther  said,  "  The  ten 
commandments  do  not  belong  to  us,  Christians,  but  only  to  the 
Jews :  we  will  not  admit  that  any  the  least  precept  of  Moses 
be  imposed  on  us.  Therefore,  look  that  Moses,  with  all  his  law, 
be  sent  a  packing,  in  malam  rem  —  with  a  mischief :  "f  and  the 

*  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  Eleventh  "Article  of  Religion."  The 
plain  meaning  of  this  article  is  felt  by  the  learned  to  be  opposed  to  the 
plain  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  ;  and  therefore,  Dr.  Burnet,  says  of  it: 
"By  faith  only,  is  not  to  be  meant  faith  as  separated  from  the  other 
evangelical  virtues  ;  but  faith  as  opposite  to  the  rites  of  the  Mosaical 
law." — Exposition  of  the  xxxix.  Articles.  This,  though  not  very  clear  as 
an  explanation  of  the  article,  is  satisfactory  as  a  renunciation  of  the 
wicked  doctrine  which  it  expresses. 

t  Luther's  Works,  vol.  1.  published  at  Wirtemburg,  p.  147,  cited  in  the 


160 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 


church  sometimes  acts  as  though  it  still  believed  this  abomination: 
it  is  conspicuous  in  the  case  of  great  criminals,  who,  having  for- 
feited their  lives  by  a  transgression  of  those  commandments,  are 
told  to  have  faith,  and  expect  salvation. 

A  regard  to  faith,  as  the  chief  thing  of  the  church,  was  the  first 
heresy  of  the  Adamic  people.  It  was  conceived  when  the  woman 
ate  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and  born  when  Eve  said,  "  I  have 
gotten  a  man,  Jehovah." 

There  are  two  things  which  belong  to  a  church,  its  wisdom  and 
its  love.  With  the  good,  wisdom  is  as  a  husband,  and  love  as  a 
wife.  The  church,  at  the  time  here  treated  of,  was,  as  to  its  wis- 
dom, represented  by  Adam,  and,  as  to  its  love,  by  his  wife.  But 
we  are  informed,  that  "  Adam  called  his  wife's  name  Eve,"  that  is 
"  life."  (Gen.  iii.  20.)  The  word  Eve  is  a  contraction  of  the 
Hebrew  chavah,  (see  Marginal  Reading,)  and  answers  very  closely 
to  the  word  Zoe,  by  which  it  is  rendered  in  the  Septuagint,  both 
of  which  signify  "  life."  Now,  why  was  she  so  called  ?  It  will 
be  replied,  "  Because  she  was  the  mother  of  all  living : "  but 
surely  something  more  is  meant  by  this  than  what  is  so  expressed. 
There  is  only  one  fountain  of  life,  who  is  the  Lord :  it  is  because 
He  lives,  that  we  live :  (John  xiv.  19.)  it  is  in  Him  that  we  live, 
and  move,  and  have  our  being.  (Acts  xvii.  28.)  In  a  merely  lit- 
eral sense,  there  is  no  more  reason  why  she  should  be  called  lifej 
from  the  circumstance  of  being  the  first  mother,  than  that  Adam 
should  have  been  so  called  on  the  ground  of  his  having  been  the 
first  father,  and,  for  other  reasons,  if  the  literal  sense  had  been 
meant,  it  might  have  been  equally  appropriate.*  The  fact  of  this 
name  having  been  given  to  her,  shows  that  something  more 
recondite  is  intended.  Adam  called  his  wife's  name  lijl,  because 
the  church  as  to  wisdom,  knows  that  the  church  as  to  love  or 
affection,  is  life  ;  it  is  a  living  thing  with  men,  and  so  the  spiritual 
mother  of  all  its  living  excellence.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
Scriptures  speak  of  the  church  as  a  mother :  the  apostle  distinctly 
asserts,  that  it  is  "  the  Mother  of  us  all : "  (Gal.  iv.  26 :)  so  that  the 

"  Intellectual  Repository,"  of  1828,  p.  80.  And  in  continuing  the  para- 
graph, he  says,  that  Moses  *'  should  be  held  suspected  for  a  heretic, 
cursed  and  damned,  and  worse  than  the  Pope  or  the  Devil." 

*  Swedenborg  states,  "  that  the  soul  is  from  the  father,  and  the  body 
from  the  mother ;  for  the  soul  is  in  the  seed  of  the  father,  and  is  clothed 
with  a  body  in  the  womb  of  the  mother ;  or,  what  amounts  to  the  same, 
all  the  spiritual  part  of  man  is  from  the  father,  and  all  the  material  part 
from  the  mother." — Trtie  Christian  Religion,  No.  92. 


WHAT    IS    UNDERSTOOD    BY   CATN.  KJl 

idea  which  Moses,  in  respect  to  Eve,  has  symbolically  indicated, 
the  apostle  has  literally  expressed. 

Now,  a  church  can  give  birth  to  nothing  but  such  things  as  per- 
tain to  faith  and  charity,  but  the  quality  of  those  descendants  will 
depend  upon  the  character  of  the  parent.  A  corrupted  fountain 
must  send  forth  a  turbid  stream.  Grapes  do  not  grow  on  thorns, 
nor  figs  on  thistles.  Eve  had  fallen,  and  her  first  offspring  was 
Cain,  or  faith,  concerning  which  she  said,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man, 
Jehovah,"  to  express  the  idea,  that  faith,  without  charity,  was  now 
considered  to  be  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  the  church.  Before 
this  time,  faith  had  not  become  a  separate  object  of  thought ;  it 
was  united  with  love  and  formed  one  with  it.  But  now  it  began 
to  exist  as  a  distinct  principle  in  the  mind,  and  also,  to  be  espoused 
by  a  people  as  the  essential  thing  for  their  salvation.  The  church, 
having  acquired  the  doctrine  of  faith,  is  described  as  "  getting  a 
man,"  and  to  indicate  its  relation  to  the  Lord,  the  term  "  Jehovah  '* 
is  appended  thereto.* 

By  Cain,  then,  is  to  be  understood,  the  doctrine  of  faith  sepa- 
rate from  charity,  and  consequently,  a  people  by  whom  this  tenet 
was  held  as  being  suflScient  for  eternal  life.  In  this  we  discover 
what  was  the  first  heresy,  and  who  were  the  first  heretics.  This 
doctrine  was  an  enormity,  and  therefore,  God  is  recorded  to  have 
had  no  respect  to  its  offerings.     That  which  constituted  their  faith 

*  The  authorized  version  represents  Eve  as  saying,  upon  the  birth  of 
Cain,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man  frovi  the  Lord."  The  original  does  not  ex- 
press the  idea  "  from  the  Lord :  "  there  is  nothing  answering  to  the  word 
from.  It  is  eth  Jehovah,  i.  e.  the  Jehovah :  and  not  meeth  Jehovah,  i.  e. 
from  the  Jehovah.  The  passage  is  considered  to  be  one  of  great  difficulty. 
The  former  sentence  is  thought  to  have  been  an  elliptical  mode  of  ex- 
pressing the  latter  idea,  so  that  the  whole  is  interpreted  to  mean,  that 
Eve  had  gotten  a  man  through  the  blessing  of  the  Lord.  The  septuagint 
and  Vulgate  so  render  the  original.  This  construction  might  be  satis- 
factory, if  the  premises  on  which  it  rested,  were  not  suppositious ;  but, 
that  being  the  case,  we  are  at  liberty  to  doubt.  Besides  this  conjecture, 
it  has  been  said,  because  the  name  Jehovah  is  sometimes  applied  to 
places,  (see^Gen.  xxii.  14;  Exodus  xvii.  15;  Judges  vi.  24,  &c.)  and  is 
also  admissive  of  being  represented  by  the  term  Lord,  which  is  frequently 
■applied  to  men;  that  Eve's  statement,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the 
Lord,"  is  a  mere  acknowledgment  to  her  husband  of  Cain's  paternity: 
but  this  notion  has  no  foundation  in  true  criticism.  The  correct  trans- 
lation is,  "I  have  gotten  a  man,  Jehovah ;  "  in  this  sense  it  might  indi- 
cate an  acknowledgment  in  the  form  of,  **  Jehovah,  I  have  gotten  a 
man."  Under  this  view  it  agrees  with  the  spiritual  sense  given  above. 
14* 


162  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

was  actual  knowledge.  They  saw  the  objects,  in  which  it  was 
necessary  to  believe,  with  certainty  and  clearness,  but  they  rested 
in  their  knowledge  as  an  intellectual  possession,  considering  it  the 
all  of  religion,  and  so  allowed  the  aflfections  to  go  astray  and 
revel  in  their  lusts. 

But  the  doctrine  of  faith  only,  which  has  sprung  up  in  the 
Christian  church,  is  not  precisely  of  this  character.  Its  members 
do  not  see,  that  the  objects  in  which  they  are  taught  to  believe, 
are  really  true.  Indeed,  it  is  openly  stated,  that  they  are  myste- 
ries for  faith,  and  not  matters  for  comprehension :  thus  it  is  the 
dictate  of  authority,  and  not  the  result  of  knowledge.  If  it  be 
not  understood,  how  is  it  known  to  be  true  ?  What  assurance  is 
there  that  it  is  not  false  ?  To  say  that  God  has  said  so,  and  that, 
therefore,  it  is  to  be  believed,  is  assuming  the  very  point  in  ques- 
tion. Has  God  really  said  what  is  generally  required  to  be  be- 
lieved ?  Has  He  declared  unintelligibilities  for  the  faith  of  man  ? 
That  which  is  not  rationally  seen  to  be  true,  does  not  contribute 
any  thing  to  the  development  of  affection  or  enlargement  of 
thought:  and  hence,  we  find  religions  society  at  a  stand-still,  in 
every  situation  where  it  has  been  touched  with  the  paralyzing 
wand  of  faith  only.  But  though  this  doctrine  in  the  Christian 
church  (because  arising  from  an  obscurity,  under  which  the  things 
of  faith  are  contemplated,)  is  less  malignant  in  its  nature,  than 
that  which  was  represented  by  Cain,  %till  it  is  the  same  in  kind, 
and  must  be  fatal  in  its  results. 

Much  ingenuity  has  been  exercised  in  the  defence  of  this  extra- 
ordinary tenet.  But  the  inventions  of  talent  cannot  successfully 
maintain  what  is  essentially  false.  It  is  possible,  by  avoiding 
some  main  point  of  an  inquiry,  to  make  a  show  of  argument  in 
favor  of  any  falsehood,  and  so,  for  the  moment,  to  embarrass  even 
truth  itself.  Men  who  are  disposed  to  believe  the  worse  to  be  the 
better  cause,  will  find  assertions  to  defend  their  notions.  It  is 
possible  to  make  black  appear  white,  by  looking  at  the  feathers 
of  a  raven  in  a  certain  angle  with  the  sun.  But  all  such  courses 
are  delusive,  and  they  will  terminate,  like  the  offering  of  faith 
alone,  in  disappointment  and  rejection.  That  doctrine  is  similar 
to  the  light  of  the  sun  without  its  heat ;  like  summer  without  its 
fruits  :  like  winter,  cold,  and  fierce,  and  chilling. 

And  here,  by  faith  alone,  we  do  not  merely  mean  the  tenet  as  it 
is  propounded  by  certain  branches  of  the  professing  Christian 
world;  because  we  can  see  that  it  may  practically  exist  within 


TRUTH  ALONE   NOT   AN   ACCEPTABLE    OFFERING.         163 

the  pale  of  a  genuine  church.  Persons  may  join  her  community, 
and  learn  her  truths  so  as  to  know  them  with  a  rational  persuasion, 
and  yet  they  may  not  love  them  so  as  to  realize  the  virtues  to 
which  they  point.  It  is  this  practical  view  of  the  case,  rather 
than  the  mental  postulatum,  which  is  the  real  antitype  of  Cain. 

Faith  cannot  bring  an  acceptable  offering  to  God,  unless  it  be 
conjoined  with  charity ;  and  charity  is  not  a  theory,  but  an  act. 
Faith  is  the  knowledge  and  consciousness  that  certain  things  of 
religion  are  true  ;  for  if  they  are  not  true,  they  are  not  worth 
believing.  If  men  believe,  without  a  persuasion  from  such 
sources,  their  faith  is  blind :  and  if,  in  such  a  state,  they  should 
happen  to  rely  upon  something  that  is  false,  it  must,  necessarily, 
exercise  an  injurious  influence  upon  their  intellectual  life.  Faith, 
then,  considered  in  its  solitary  character,  is  the  mere  knowledge 
of  truth ;  and  this  faith  is  more  or  less  expansive  and  enlightened, 
a9  the  truths  which  form  it  are  more  and  more  abundantly  in- 
creased. 

Here  it  may  be  inquired.  If  the  knowledge  of  truth  is  one  of 
the  constituents  of  faith,  why  are  its  offerings  not  acceptable  to 
God,  seeing  that,  as  truth,  it  must  have  originated  in  him  ? 

The  answer  is,  that  although  truth  does  originate  in  God,  yet  it 
does  not  descend  from  him  as  a  solitary  principle.  In  him  it  is 
eternally  associated  with  good,  and  with  this  it  comes  from  Him 
to  man ;  man  has  separated  them.  He  has  put  asunder  what  God 
has  joined  together,  and,  in  rejecting  the  principle  of  good,  on 
which  the  quality  of  truth  depended  for  its  excellence,  it  can  form 
only  a  dead,  and  not  a  living  faith.  Moreover,  the  truth  which  is 
necessary  to  the  formation  of  faith,  is  only  a  means  to  an  end,  and 
the  end  cannot  be  secured  by  a  mere  belief  in  the  means.  All 
believe  that  a  good  day's  work  may  be  done  by  industry  and  dili- 
gence :  this  is  believed  because  experience  has  proved  it  true  ; 
yet  it  is  certain  that  mere  belief  will  not  do  the  work.  ,  Anfl  the 
case  is  similar  in  religious  things.  We  must  employ  the  truths 
we  know,  to  obtain  the  goods  they  teach,  before  they  can  become 
an  acceptable  offering  to  God.  A  further  reason  why  mere  faith 
cannot  present  an  acceptable  offering  to  Him,  is,  because  it  is  not 
morally  beneficial  to  us.  Nevertheless,  faith  is  the  first  principle 
to  which  the  church  gives  birth  —  like  Cain,  it  is  first-born:  — 
man  must  first  learn  to  speak  and  think,  then  to  investigate  and 
know  the  things  of  religion ;  but  to  stop  at  this  point  is  to  consider 
that  religious  principles  are  formed,  when,  in  fact,  they  are  only 


164  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

known ;  and  this  is  to  resuscitate  the  character  of  Cain.  Faith, 
without  charity,  is  nothing ;  for  the  apostle  has  most  eloquently 
said,  "  Though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  understand  all 
mysteries,  and  all  knowledge,  and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that 
I  could  remove  mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing." 
(1  Cor.  xiii.  2.) 

Much  difficulty  has  been  experienced  by  the  church,  in  deter- 
mining whether  faith  or  charity  was  the  primary  principle.  This 
is  a  consequence  of  not  distinguishing  between  faith  as  being  the 
first  in  respect  to  time,  and  charity  as  being  chief  in  respect  to 
end.  It  may  now  be  easily  removed,  and  the  facts  familiarly 
illustrated.  For  example  :  in  building  a  temple,  the  first  thing,  in 
respect  to  time,  is  to  lay  the  foundation,  erect  the  walls,  cover 
them  with  a  roof,  and  afterwards  provide  the  altar  and  raise  the 
pulpit ;  but  the  chief  thing  in  respect  to  end  is,  that  God  may  be 
worshiped  therein.  So,  again,  with  regard  to  the  building  of  a 
house  :  the  first  thing  in  regard  to  time  is  to  build  the  external 
parts  of  it,  and  then  to  provide  the  requisite  conveniences  within  ; 
but  the  first  thing  in  regard  to  end,  is  a  commodious  dwelling  for 
the  master  and  his  family.  Illustrations  of  this  kind  are  abundant. 
They  show,  most  conclusivelyj  that  faith  is  first  with  respect  to 
time,  because  it  is  a  means  to  charity  as  an  end :  and  hence  Cain,  by 
whom  this  faith  is  represented,  is  described  to  have  been  first-born. 

This  representation  of  Cain  is  further  sustained  by  the  occupa- 
tion he  is  said  to  have  been  engaged  in.  He  was  a  tiller  of  the 
ground;  and  by  this  is  spiritually  signified  a  planter  of  knowl- 
edges in  the  understanding  merely.  That  this  was  the  character 
of  Cain  —  that  is,  of  all  those  people  of  that  most  ancient  time 
who  received  the  heresy  of  faith  separate  from  charity  —  appears 
from  all  the  circumstances  which  are  related  of  him,  and  espe- 
cially from  these,  that  his  offering  was  rejected,  and  that  he  slew 
his  brother. 

And  this  brings  us  to  inquire  concerning  Abel.  Ancient  writ- 
ers abound  in  observations  on  his  mystical  character,*  and  he  has 
very  commonly  been  regarded  as  the  representative  of  the  pastoral 

*  Chrysostom,  Horn,  in  Gen.  xviii.  5.  Augustin,  De  Civitate  Dei,  xv. 
1,  and  Irenaeus,  Contra  Hceres.  iii.  23,  so  speak  of  him.  Dr.  Darwin,  in 
his  Botanical  Garden,  Art.  Portland  Vase,  speaking  of  the  opinions  which 
have  been  held  concerning  the  early  personages  of  the  Bible,  says,  "Abel 
was  the  name  of  an  hieroglyphical  figure  representing  the  age  of  Pas- 
turage, and  Cain  the  name  of  another  hieroglyphical  symbol  representing 
the  age  of  Agriculture." 


ABEL  THE  TYPE  OF  CHARITY.  165 

tribes,  in  like  manner,  as  Cain  has  been  considered  the  author  of 
the  nomadic  life.  Thus,  his  representative  character  seems  to  be 
admitted,  though  some  obscurity  may  be  felt  as  to  what  he  signi- 
fied. From  what  is  written  concerning  him  in  the  Word,  we  think 
it  is  evident  that  he  was  the  representative  of  charity.  Abel,  as  a 
Hebrew  term,  denotes  humility,  and  also,  weakness :  humility,  to 
denote  a  characteristic  of  charity,  and  weakness,  to  express  its 
modesty  and  sAveetness  ;  as  well,  perhaps,  as  to  indicate  the  lim- 
ited number  of  society  by  whom  it  Avas  loved  and  practised.  Abel 
is  said  to  have  been  the  brother  of  Cain,  to  inform  us  that  charity 
is  a  near  relative  to  faith.  The  Scriptures  continually  speak  of 
the  intimate  connection  betAveen  these  tAvo  principles  of  the 
church,  and  man  has  been  mercifully  gifted  Avith  tAA^o  faculties  for 
their  reception :  the  AA'ill  for  charity,  the  understanding  for  faith. 
But,  although  there  is  a  spiritual  brotherhood  subsisting  betAveen 
these  tAvo  principles,  the  universal  experience  of  mankind  is,  that 
the  things  of  faith  are  more  forAvard  and  uppermost  than  the  affec- 
tions of  charity.  Charity,  though  the  sAveeter  and  more  gentle 
excellence  of  the  church,  is  too  frequently  lorded  over  by  the  more 
daring  and  presumptuous  influence  of  faith.  The  affections  of 
good  are  Avell  knoAvn  to  be  more  feeble  than  the  perceptions  of 
truth.  Abel  is  modest  and  retiring,  Cain  is  bold  and  confident. 
Faith  struggles  for  command  and  mastery,  and  it  is  too  frequently 
inattentive  to  the  Aveaker  but  inner  sensations  of  charity.  Most 
persons  have  felt  a  desire  to  do  good  Avhen  a  suitable  opportunity 
has  been  presented,  but  hoAv  many  have  had  it  set  aside  by  the 
influence  of  some  selfish  persuasion  ?  Hoav  frequently  does  tal- 
ent endeavor  to  place  itself  as  a  substitute  for  virtue  ?  Cleverness 
has  sometimes  been  mistaken  for  goodness.  These  facts  are  too 
common  to  have  escaped  the  attention  of  those,  Avho  observe  what 
is  taking  place  around  them.  But,  it  may  not  have  occurred  to 
them,  that  in  these  phenomena,  they  were  beholding  the  struggles 
of  two  spiritual  brothers :  the  efforts  of  faith  to  secure  an  ascen- 
dency over  charity :  the  sternness  of  Cain  displaying  its  proAvess 
to  subdue  the  modesty  of  Abel :  and  which  circumstance,  in  afler- 
times,  was  also  represented  by  Jacob  taking  away  the  birthright 
and  blessing  of  his  brother,  Esau.  (Gen.  xxvii.  36.)  By  Pharez 
gaining  the  primogeniture  from  his  brother,  Zarah,  (Gen.  xxxviii. 
27  to  the  end,)  and  by  Epbraim  obtaining  the  position  which  be- 
longed to  his  brother,  Manasseh.  (Gen.  xlviii.  18  to  the  end.) 
It  is  because  Abel  represented  charity,  and  consequently,  those 


166  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

who  were  pnncipled  in  it,  that  the  Lord  called  him  "  the  righteous 
Abel,"  (Matt,  xxiii.  35 ;)  and  that  the  apostle  spoke  of  his  offering 
as  being  the  "more  excellent  sacrifice."  (Heb.  xi.  4.)  His  occu- 
pation, as  a  "  keeper  of  sheep,"  will  further  exemplify  this  fact. 

The  Scriptures  very  frequently  employ  the  idea,  as  well  as  the 
expression,  shepherd,  to  denote  one  who  exercises  the  good  of 
charity.  It  is  on  this  account  that  the  Psalmist  said,  "  The  Lord 
is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want."  (Psalm  xxiii.  1.)  He  is  essen- 
tial charity  ;  and  from  this  principle  he  is  perpetually  engaged  in 
watching  over  the  welfare,  and  providing  for  the  wants  of  man- 
kind :  hence,  also,  it  is  written  of  Him,  "  He  shall  feed  his- flock  like 
a  shepherd :  he  shall  gather  the  lambs  into  his  arms,  and  carry  them 
in  his  bosom,  and  gently  lead  them  that  are  with  young ;"  (Isaiah 
xl.  11 ;)  a  passage  beautifully  expressive  of  the  Lord's  affectionate 
tenderness  for  the  people  of  his  pasture,  and  his  charitable  solici- 
tude for  the  sheep  of  his  hands.  Peter  was  contemplated  as  a 
shepherd,  when  the  Lord  directed  him  to  feed  his  sheep :  (John 
xxi.  16  :)  he  was  expected  to  exercise  an  enlightened  charity  in  the 
apostolic  office  to  which  he  was  appointed.  Ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel are  sometimes  called  pastors,  that  is,  shepherds,  for  the  same 
reason.  He  who  leadeth  and  teacheth  what  is  good  is  called  a 
shepherd,  and  they  who  are  led  and  taught,  are  called  the  flock. 
The  Scriptures  represent  the  good  shepherd  to  love  his  sheep,  and 
to  care  for  the  safety  and  unity  of  the  flock ;  but  the  hireling  shep- 
herd is  described  as  one  who  leaveth  them,  and  in  times  of  danger 
fleeth,  so  as  to  allow  them  to  be  scattered.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
said,  "  I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep,  and  am  known 
of  mine : "  (John  x.  14 :)  and  the  church  he  called  a  sheepfold. 
(John  X.  1.)  The  reason  for  these  descriptions  is,  because  a  shep- 
herd is  an  emblem  of  that  charity,  which  carefully  watches  over 
the  things  of  innocence,  gentleness,  and  purity,  in  the  human 
mind :  and  this  is  said  to  have  been  the  occupation  of  Abel, 
because  he  was  a  representative  of  this  excellence. 

Thus  we  learn,  that  by  Cain,  as  a  tiller  of  the  ground,  was 
denoted  faith,  engaged  in  planting  knowledge  in  the  intellect 
merely ;  and  that  by  Abel,  as  a  keeper  of  sheep,  was  signified 
charity,  chiefly  employed  in  promoting  the  good  things  of  use : 
and  consequently,  that  they  represented  two  classes  of  persons,  in 
the  most  ancient  church,  to  whom  those  principles  respectively 
belonged.  These  conclusions  will  be  corroborated  by  other  evi- 
dences to  be  adduced  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 


THE    OFFERINGS    OF    CAIN    AND   ABEL.  1&7 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    OFFERINGS    OF    CAIN    AND    ABEL  :    WHY    THE    OFFERING    OF    ABEL 
WAS   RESPECTED,   AND  THAT  OF  CAIN  REJECTED. 

•*  Truth  is  like  the  dew  of  heaven ;  in  order  to  preserve  it  pure,  it  must 
be  collected  in  a  pure  vessel."  —  St.  Pierre. 

The  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel  are  the  first  intimations  of 
divine  worship  that  are  recorded.  The  subject  is  thus  related: 
"  In  process  of  time,  it  came  to  pass,  that  Cain  brought,  of  the 
fruit  of  the  ground,  an  offering  unto  the  Lord.  And  Abel,  he  also 
brought  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock  and  of  the  fat  thereof.  And  the 
I^ord  had  respect  unto  Abel  and  his  offering.  But  unto  Cain  and 
to  his  offering  he  had  not  respect."  (Gen.  iv.  4, 5.)  Now,  whence 
could  the  idea  of  divine  worship  have  originated  ?  It  can  be  only 
satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  admitting,  that  a  church  existed  to 
which  a  knowledge  of  that  duty  had  been  communicated.  It  is 
true,  we  do  not  read  of  any  command  having  been  given  upon  this 
subject ;  this  was  not  requisite,  because  we  think  it  was  neces- 
sarily included  in  the  process  by  which  the  church  was  developed, 
and  of  which  we  have  previously  treated.  The  worship  of  the 
Lord  must  have  been  one  of  its  conspicuous  features  ;  it  naturally 
belonged  to  the  Paradisiacal  state  of  the  Adamic  people.  Their 
fall  would  induce  a  neglect  of  the  essential  things  of  this  duty, 
but  not  a  complete  forgetfulness  of  it :  that  calamity  would,  also, 
lead  to  a  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  worship,  but  not  to  its 
entire  abandonment.  Cain  and  Abel,  therefore,  must  have  learnt 
the  duty  of  divine  worship  from  the  church  that  was  extant,  and 
the  difference  in  these  offerings,  must  have  originated  in  the  dif- 
ferent perceptions  of  that  duty,  then  in  the  process  of  being 
manifested. 

But  how  are  we  to  understand  their  offerings  ?  Are  they  to  be 
interpreted  as  meaning  the  physical  things  described,  as  was  after- 
wards the  case  in  the  Jewish  church,  or  are  they  mentioned,  only 
because  they  are  the  symbol  of  certain  things  of  the  mind,  by 
which  all  worship  must  be  performed  ?  We  think  the  latter,  and 
not  the  former,  is  the  view  which  ought  to  be  taken  of  the  case. 
Although  men  had  fallen,  they  had  not  forgotten,  that  natural 
things  were  the  emblems  of  spiritual  sentiments  and  love :  nor 
had  they  yet  ceased  to  speak  of  them  as  such ;  these  were  subse- 
quent occurrences.    A  really  ceremonious  worship  did  not  come 


168  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

into  existence,  until  men  had  lost  all  spiritual  ideas  of  it :  when 
this  took  place,  they  began  to  worship  the  Lord  with  those  objects, 
which  their  ancestors  had  only  spoken  of,  as  the  symbols  of  those 
mental  affections  and  thoughts,  with  which  they  worshiped.  Hav- 
ing lost  sight  of  the  spiritual  reality,  they  began  to  worship  with 
the  natural  representation ;  and  this  was  the  origin  of  that  cere- 
monial worship,  subsequently  arranged  among  the  descendants  of 
Abram.  It  was  then  instituted,  not  only  as  the  shadow  of  better 
things  to  come,  but  also,  as  the  types  of  those  precious  things 
which  had  perished. 

At  the  time  of  Cain  and  Abel,  the  people  had  not  sunk  into  so 
low  a  condition,  as  that  which  afterwards  required  the  establish- 
ment of  a  ceremonial  religion :  worship  of  the  Lord,  from  some 
interior  principle,  still  prevailed  among  them ;  and  as  all  such  prin- 
ciples were  known  to  them,  to  have  their  correspondence  in  natural 
objects,  such  objects  would  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  their 
worship,  to  signify  spiritual  things  only.  If  they  spoke  of  the  first- 
fruits,  or  of  a  lamb,  as  offerings  to  the  Lord,  it  would  not  be  to 
indicate  those  natural  things,  but  symbolically  to  express  some 
internal  sentiment  of  truth  and  love  :  this  we  conceive  must  have 
been  the  case  with  the  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel. 

It  is  well  known  that  offerings,  under  the  ceremonial  law,  were 
acts  of  worship,  that  is,  not  worship  in  themselves,  but  types  of 
those  spiritual  and  heavenly  principles  from  which  it  must  arise. 
This  must  be  obvious  to  every  one  who  will  reflect.  The  offering, 
apart  from  the  sentiment  which  it  represented,  could  be  of  no 
religious  value.  In  such  a  case,  it  would  be  an  external  without 
a  corresponding  internal,  like  a  soul  without  a  body,  or  a  dumb 
idol.  External  acts  of  worship  are  mere  ceremonies,  unless  they 
are  sanctified  with  the  adoration  of  the  heart.  What  are  the 
prayers  of  the  lips  but  mere  babbling,  unless  the  affection  of  the 
mind  is  in  them :  all  such  acts  are  valuable  only  so  far  as  there  is 
a  corresponding  intention  in  them :  they  must  be  attended  with  an 
internal  love,  to  give  them  sanctity  and  render  them  acceptable. 
The  offerings,  then,  as  forms  of  worship,  were  significant  of  mental 
and  spiritual  things,  in  which  the  real  virtue  and  efficacy  of  the 
worship  consists. 

Offerings  are  presents  :  this  is  the  idea  which  the  word  literally 
expresses  ;  and  the  original  may  with  propriety  be  so  translated. 
But  presents,  in  general,  are  intended  to  testify  the  esteem,  which 
we  entertain  for  those  to  whom  we  give  them ;  and  the  will,  or 


THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  OFFERINGS.        169 

intention,  is  regarded  by  him  who  receives  them,  as  of  greater 
value  than  the  thing  presented.  If  this  be  true,  then  the  things 
which  are  presented  to  God,  must  be  tokens  expressive  of  such 
sentiments  of  gratitude  and  love,  as  are  cherished  by  the  offerer ; 
and  God  must  be  considered  to  receive  them,  not  for  the  value  of 
the  things  themselves,  "for  the  world  is  his,  and  the  fulness 
thereof,"  (Psalm  1.  12  ;)  but  wholly  for  the  sake  of  the  affections, 
by  which  they  are  accompanied.  It  is  upon  this  principle  that  the 
Lord  said,  "  If  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  remem- 
berest  that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  thee,  leave  there  thy 
gift  before  the  altar  and  go  thy  way :  first  be  reconciled  to  thy 
brother,  and  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift."  (Matt.  v.  23,  24.) 
Here,  it  is  plain,  that  the  offering  was  considered  as  the  symbol  of 
an  inward  sentiment  of  love  and  charity,  because  reconciliation 
with  a  brother  was  necessary  to  render  it  acceptable. 

Seeing,  then,  what  an  offering  to  the  Lord  involves,  we  may 
readily  perceive,  that  the  things  which  were  arranged  for  this  pur- 
pose, under  the  representative  law,  were  intended  to  signify  par- 
ticular states  of  the  affection  and  thought  of  those  who  worshiped. 
We  find  that  lambs  and  rams,  sheep  and  oxen,  goats  and  calves, 
doves  and  pigeons,  and  flour  and  oil,  were  directed  to  be  presented 
to  the  Lord.  Moreover,  some  of  them  were  to  be  offered  under 
special  circumstances.  There  were  sin-offerings,  meat-offerings, 
drink-offerings,  heave-offerings,  wave-offerings,  peace-offerings,  and 
trespass-offerings,  to  each  of  which,  specific  ceremonies  were  at- 
tached. •  These  various  offerings  were  evidently  intended  (or  why 
else  were  they  so  many,  and  one  thing  selected  for  their  celebration 
in  preference  to  another  ?)  to  show  forth,  in  a  representative  man- 
ner, the  several  states  of  affection  and  thought,  which,  under  various 
circumstances,  become  characteristics  of  the  worshiper. 

The  offerings  under  the  Levitical  law,  seem,  generally,  to 
include  the  ideas  of  death  and  consumption  by  fire.  These, 
however,  were  the  results  which  attended  the  introduction  of 
sacrificial  worship^  rather  than  the  natural  concomitants  of  the 
primitive  offerings  ;  they  did  not  involve  those  circumstances,  and 
therefore,  they  are  not  mentioned  in  connection  with  those  of  Cain 
and  Abel ;  this  may  be  taken  as  evidence,  that  they  are  stated  only 
for  the  sake  of  the  symbol  which  they  afforded.  We  are  merely 
informed  of  what  they  consisted,  but  not  of  the  manner  in  which 
tliey  were  presented :  it  is,  then  simply  the  meaning  of  those  offer- 
ings, into  which  we  have  to  inquire.  And  first,  of  Cain's. 
15 


170  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

Cain,  or  the  religion  of  faith  without  charity,  has  its  ofTeringg, 
tiiat  is  to  say,  its  modes  and  principles  of  worship.  It  was  in  the 
process  of  time  "  that  Cain  brought,  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground,  an 
offering  unto  the  Lord."  From  this  it  would  appear,  that  the 
characteristics  of  the  worship  which  now  distinguished  Cain,  were 
not  developed  all  at  once :  they  were  results  brought  about  in  the 
process  of  time.  Thus  it  wels  not  so  far  separated  from  charity,  in 
the  beginning,  as  it  afterwards  became.  The  last  state  was  worse 
than  the  first :  it  was  about  this  period,  when  "  Cain  brought  of 
the  fruit  of  the  ground,  an  offering  unto  the  Lord."  What,  then, 
is  meant  by  the  fruit  of  the  ground  ?  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Adam,  when  sent  forth  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  was  to  till  the 
ground,  whence  he  was  taken ;  and,  in  treating  of  that  circum- 
stance, in  a  preceding  chapter,  it  was  shown  that  the  ground  was 
significant  of  the  external  man.  That,  is  the  ground  on  which  the 
spiritual  and  celestial  things  of  the  internal  man  rest,  as  a  house 
upon  its  foundation.  It  is  compared  to  the  ground,  because  it  is, 
to  the  things  of  the  mind,  what  the  earth  is  to  the  body.  The 
apostle  says,  "  That  which  is  first,  is  not  spiritual  but  natural ; " 
and  then  of  this  first,  he  says,  it  is  "  of  the  earth,  earthy."  (1  Cor. 
XV.  46  -  49.)  The  Lord  said,  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  if  a  man 
should  cast  seed  ihto  his  ground ; "  (Mark  iv.  26 ;)  and,  also,  in  ex- 
planation of  the  parable  of  the  sower,  he  said,  "  He  that  receiveth 
seed  into  good  ground,  is  he  that  heareth  the  word,  and  under- 
standeth  it ;  which  also  beareth  fruit,  and  bringeth  forth  some  a 
hundred  fold."  (Matt.  xiii.  23.)  In  these  instances  it  is  plain,  that 
by  the  ground  is  meant  the  external  man,  and  to  sow  seed  therein, 
denotes,  to  implant  truths  that  they  may  grow  up  and  produce  the 
leaves  of  faith  and  fruits  of  love. 

Now,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  Cain  did  not  bring  for  an  offer- 
ing, the  fruit  of  those  seeds.  Although  he  was  a  tiller  of  the 
ground,  yet  he  only  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground,  and  not  of 
the  fruit  of  the  seeds,  which,  as  a  tiller  of  it,  he  had  sown  there. 
This  is  a  distinction  of  the  highest  consequence,  to  be  carefully 
observed,  in  order  rightly  to  understand  the  subject.  The  senti- 
ments of  revelation  are  couched  in  choice  expressions ;  and  the 
fruit  of  the  ground  is  spoken  of,  as  the  offering  of  Cain,  because 
it  denoted  tha  works  of  the  merely  external  man. 

But  what  is  the  external  man  ?  It  is  not  the  physical  structure, 
but  all  those  knowledges  and  affections  which  are  gathered  thereby 
from  the  outer  world,  and  whi(^  then  form,  as  it  were,  the  ex- 


WHAT  THE  FRUIT  OF  THE  GROUND  DENOTED.     171 

ternal  of  his  spirit.  The  natural  body  is  only  the  outermost  cover- 
ing, Avithin  which,  the  external  of  which  we  are  speaking,  and  the 
spiritual  man,  reside,  during  its  locality  in  the  world. 

The  internal  man  is  so  constituted  that  it  can  perceive  and  love 
tlie  things  of  heaven,  and  the  external  is  such  that  it  can  learn 
and  delight  in  the  things  of  the  world.  With  the  good,  these  two 
act  as  one,  the  internal  illuminating  and  guiding  the  external,  as 
the  efficient  cause  of  all  its  works  of  use  and  order.  But  witli 
those  who  are  not  good,  it  is  not  so.  In  that  case,  the  internal  is 
more  or  less  closed,  according  to  the  quality  and  extent  of  the  evil 
that  is  loved,  and  the  external  man  only  remains  in  activity,  and 
this  it  derives  from  the  love  of  self  and  the  love  of  the  world.  A 
man,  in  such  a  state,  is  not  necessarily  deprived  of  religious  infor- 
mation :  he  may  store  his  memory  with  its  doctrines,  become  ac- 
quainted with  its  duties,  and  acquire  the  ability  of  speaking  of 
them  with  fluency  and  force,  but  his  motives  in  doing  these  things, 
will  wholly  arise  from  the  loves  of  self  and  the  world.  The  quality 
of  the  external  man,  when  separated  from  the  internal,  is  neces- 
sarily worldly,  and  all  that  it  produces  is  with  a  view  to  selfish  ends. 

Such,  then,  is  the  ground,  and  such  is  the  fruit  thereof.  The 
religion  of  such  a  man  is,  obviously,  nothing  more  than  its  knowl- 
edge and  its  forms  :  it  has  no  soul  from  above,  its  life  is  from  be- 
low. How  can  the  fruits  of  this  ground  be  acceptable  to  God  ? 
We  see  at  once,  that  it  cannot  be  respected.  It  rejects  the  great 
principle  involved  in  the  invitations,  "  My  son,  give  me  thy  heart ; " 
*'  Let  thy  heart  keep  my  commandments."  (Proverbs  xxiii.  26  ;  iii. 
J.)  These  circumstances,  then,  fully  explain  the  case  of  Cain's 
offering  not  being  respected. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  what  evidence  there  is  to  prove  that.  Cain 
was  merely  an  external*  man  ?  The  apostle  says,  he  was  of  the 
wicked  one.  (1  John  iii.  12.)  It  is  also  presented,  in  all  the  cir- 
cumstances which  are  related  of  his  character,  and  from  which  it 
has  been  seen  that  he  represented  faith  only.  The  tendency  of 
that  doctrine  is,  to  produce  such  a  result  upon  the  human  charac- 
ter. When  a  man  believes  faith  to  be  the  principal  thing  of  the 
church,  he  will  gradually  recede  from  charity,  which,  in  the  pro- 
cess of  time,  will  perish  ;  in  this  case  he  will,  as  it  were,  have  lost 
the  kernel  and  merely  retained  the  husk,  which  also  is  endangered. 
Faith  is  an  external  principle,  of  which  charity  is  the  internal, 
and  therefore,  it  is  plain,  that  they  who  are  in  faith  only,  must  be 
external  men  only,  whose  faith  is  not  even  faith,  but  mere  science 


172  ANTEDILUVIAN  HISTORY. 

and  persuasion.  Confidence,  which  may  be  called  faith  in  an  em- 
inent degree,  cannot  be  given  to  those  who  are  not  in  charity. 
How  can  they  have  genuine  confidence,  who  have  lost  the  good, 
by  which  it  is  inspired  and  made  alive  ?  Charity  is  as  a  flame,  and 
faith  the  light  which  it  emits :  when  the  flame  expires  the  light 
perishes,  or,  if  any  remains,  it  is  dim  and  doubtful.  These,  then, 
are  the  reasons  why  the  Lord  had  not  respect  to  Cain,  or  to  his 
offering.  Faith  only  is  no  object  of  the  divine  regard,  neither  are 
its  offerings,  they  being  nothing  else  than  the  self-derived  intelli- 
gence of  the  external  man. 

By  these  representative  descriptions,  we  are  informed  of  the 
moral  state  and  spiritual  danger,  of  all  those  persons,  among 
whom  the  heresy  of  Cain  prevails ;  which  is  confirmed  by  the 
divine  declaration  made  to  him,  namely,  "  If  thou  doest  well  shalt 
thou  not  be  accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  lieth  at  the 
door."  It  is  plain  that  he  did  not  do  well,  and  that  therefore,  both 
he  and  his  offering  were  rejected. 

But  why  had  the  Lord  respect  to  Abel,  and  to  his  oflfering  ?  To 
Abel,  because  he  was  the  representative  of  charity,  which  pre- 
vailed with  another  community,  and  which  is  an  internal  and  sancti- 
fied principle,  inducing  all  that  is  good  and  lovely  in  the  human 
character.  This  view  is  recognized  by  the  apostle,  who,  speaking 
of  Abel's  works,  says  they  were  righteous.  (1  John  iii.  12.)  But 
of  Avhat  were  his  offerings  significant?  Under  the  ceremonial 
law,  the  sacrifices  were  supplied  from  two  sources,  the  flocks  and 
the  herds.  Those  of  the  flock  consisted  of  lambs,  sheep,  rams,  and 
goats ;  and  those  of  the  herd,  of  oxen,  heifers,  and  calves.  By 
those  of  the  flock,  were  represented  the  good  aflfections  of  the  in- 
ternal man,  and  by  those  of  the  herd,  were  denoted  tlie  good 
affections  of  the  external  man  :  or,  in  other  words,  by  the  former 
were  denoted  the  good  things  of  love  and  charity,  and  by  the  lat- 
ter, the  good  things  of  truth  and  faith.  Hence  arose  the  proverb, 
"Know  the  state  of  thy  flocks,  and  look  well  to  thine  herds;" 
(Proverbs  xxvii.  23 ;)  and  also,  the  declaration  concerning  back- 
sliding Israel,  namely,  "  Shame  hath  devoured  their  flocks  and 
herds."  (Jer.  iii.  24.)  The  Lord,  likewise,  called  those  who  af- 
fectionately followed  him,  a  "  little  flock,"  and  said  unto  them, 
"It  is  your  father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom." 
(Luke  xii.  32.)  Now  Abel's  offerings  were  of  the  firstlings  of  his 
flock,  and  the  fat  thereof;  which  may  be  taken,  in  the  representa- 
tive sense,  to  mean  a  lamb,  and  the  fattest  thereof. 


A    LAMB    THE    EMBLEM    OF    INNOCENCE.  173 

The  significant  character  of  a  lamb  is  abundantly  shown  to  us 
in  the  Scriptures.  The  Lord's  command  to  feed  His  lambs ;  (John 
xxi.  15  ;)  His  sending  forth  the  disciples  as  lambs  among  wolves  ; 
(Luke  X.  3  ;)  and  the  circumstance  of  His  Humanity  being  called 
the  "  Lamb  of  God  ; "  (John  i.  29 ;)  sufficiently  prove  that  they  are 
used  in  a  symbolical  sense ;  and  the  same  facts  clearly  intimate,  that 
they  are  employed  as  the  representatives  of  innocence.  The  truth 
of  this  idea  is  perceived,  almost  by  intuition ;  and  from  this  circum- 
stance, has  grown  up  the  aifectionate  custom  of  speaking  of  chil- 
dren as  lambs,  and  declaring  their  innocence  to  be  like  them. 

Innocence  is  of  two  kinds :  the  innocence  of  infancy,  and  the 
innocence  of  manhood.  By  manliood,  we  mean  that  sound  condi- 
tion of  humanity,  which  is  induced  by  religious  influences  and 
teachings.  The  innocence  of  the  infant  is  the  innocence  of 
ignorance  ;  it  is  of  a  mere  negative  quality,  arising  from  the 
unconscious  presence  of  any  guilt,  and  thus  it  is  merely  the 
ground,  on  which  all  the  future  states  of  religious  life  are  raised. 
It  is  not  a  possession  which  the  infant  can  appreciate :  it  is  a 
necessary  result  of  his  condition,  and  towards  which,  neither  his 
intellectual  nor  his  voluntary  powers  have  at  all  contributed.  But 
the  innocence  of  the  man  is  the  innocence  of  wisdom :  it  is,  as  it 
were,  the  innocence  of  the  infant  grown  into  a  man,  developed, 
and  made  alive  by  the  instructions  of  truth  and  good.  In  this 
case,  it  becomes  an  appreciable  possession ;  so  that  the  distinction 
between  the  quality  of  the  innocence  with  the  infant  and  the  man, 
is,  that  with  the  former,  it  is  an  inheritance  of  which  he  is  uncon- 
scious, but  with  the  latter,  it  is  an  enlightened  and  sensible  pos- 
session. Thus,  the  state  of  infancy,  is  not  a  state  of  religious 
innocence,  because,  with  the  infant,  it  does  not  exist  as  a  spiritual 
quality,  perceptible  to  the  subject :  but  the  innocence  of  the  man, 
is  a  religious  principle,  implanted  as  he  receives  good  and  becomes 
wise.  Goodness  and  wisdom  are  essential  innocence.  It  was  on 
this  account,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  to  His  Humanity,  was 
called  the  "  Lamh  of  God,"  and  described  to  have  "  grown  in  wis- 
dom and  favor  with  God."  The  disciples  are  called  lambs,  for  a 
similar  reason.  Such,  then,  being  the  signification  of  a  lamb,  it  is 
easy  to  see,  that  the  offering  of  it  to  the  Lord,  meant  the  worship 
of  him  from  the  good  of  innocence,  and  a  consequent  acknowl- 
edgment that  it  had  come  from  him  and  was  properly  his. 

Every  one  must  perceive,  that  in  all  good,  there  must  be  inno- 
cence ;  it  is  that  which  makes  it  good,  for  if  innocence  be  removed, 
15* 


174  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

then,  in  comes  guilt.  Charity  without  innocence,  cannot  be  char- 
ity :  as,  then,  Abel  was  the  representative  of  charity,  and  conse- 
quently, of  all  those  in  whom  it  exists,  it  is  plain,  that  innocence 
must  have  been  a  quality  essential  to  its  existence.  If,  then,  a 
lamb  really  denoted  the  quality  of  religious  innocence  ;  and,  if  by 
the  firstling  of  the  flock  is  meant  a  lamb,  then  it  follows,  as  an 
irresistible  consequence,  that  the  offering  of  Abel  was  designed 
to  signify  the  worship  of  the  Lord  by,  and  from,  that  innocence. 

It  is  called  the  firstling  of  the  flock,  because  innocence  is 
among  the  first  things  of  man,  which  is  afterwards  made  alive  by 
the  insemination  of  religious  good ;  and  the  fat  thereof,  is  intended 
to  express  the  superiority  of  its  quality,  and  the  beauty  of  its 
developments.  The  fat  of  the  lamb,  represented  the  essential 
things  of  innocence,  which  is  the  principle  of  celestial  good  itself. 
Hence,  the  Lord  said,  "  Hearken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye 
that  which  is  good,  that  your  soul  may  delight  itself  in  fatness  ; " 
(Isaiah  Iv.  2 ;)  and,  again,  "  I  will  fill  the  soul  of  the  priest  with 
fatness,  and  my  people  shall  be  satisfied  with  my  goodness."  (Jer. 
xxxi.  14.)  It  is  plain,  that  in  these  passages,  fat  does  not  mean 
material  fat,  but  that  which  is  essentially  good  from  the  Lord. 

With  these  views  before  us,  we  can  be  at  no  loss  to  discover 
why  it  was,  that  the  Lord  had  respect  to  Abel  and  to  his  offering. 
Charity,  and  the  good  of  innocence  with  which  those  who  are 
principled  in  it,  worship  the  Lord,  are  acceptable  things  to  him. 
They  involve  a  faithful  obedience  to  the  laws  and  duties  of  revela- 
tion, and  whosoever  cherishes  and  observes  them  Avill  be  sure  to 
obtain  admission  into  the  heavenly  kingdom,  and  so  realize  those 
blessings  which  are  associated  with  the  divine  respect  for  them. 

But,  by  what  evidences  were  Cain  and  Abel  made  acquainted 
with  the  results  of  their  respective  offerings  ?  There  is  no  state- 
ment given,  by  which  they  were  to  be  guided  into  such  knowledge. 
It  has  been  conjectured  that  fire  came  down  from  heaven  and  con- 
sumed Abel's  offering,  but  passed  by  that  of  Cain's,  in  like  manner 
as  it  is  recorded  to  have  done  on  two  or  three  other  occasions, 
after  the  establishment  of  the  Levitical  law.*  This  supposes  the 
offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel  to  have  been  identically  similar  with 
the  Jewish  sacrifices.     Whereas,  in  their  offerings  there  is  no 

*  See  Lev.  ix.  24.  1  Kings  xviii.  38.  Also,  Judges  vi.  21.  To  support 
this  idea,  Theodotian  has  translated  the  Hebrew  shoah  (have  respect) 
into  Greek,  by  the  word,  enepuriseti,  he  set  on  fire.  —  Baijle's  Diet.  Hist.f 
Art.  Egnatia. 


THE    RECEPTION    AND   REJECTION    OF    WORSHIP.         175 

intimation  of  sacrifice,  in  the  way  of  killing  an  animal,  and  pre- 
senting it  upon  an  altar.  But,  if  any  weight  were  attached  to  this 
notion,  we  should  still  have  to  inquire,  how  they  knew  that  burning 
of  the  victim  was  a  sign  of  the  divine  approbation  ?  Had  they 
learnt  it  by  experience,  or  were  they  taught  it  by  revelation? 
There  is  no  written  information  by  which  these  questions  can,  sat- 
isfactorily, be  replied  to ;  nor  need  they  be  urged,  when  it  is 
known  that  their  offerings  are  not  mentioned  to  be  understood  in  a 
physical  sense :  the  whole  difficulty  arises  from  that  view  of  the 
case,  and  it  can  only  be  removed  by  other  considerations. 

It  is  plain,  that  both  Gain  and  Abel  must  have  known,  by  some 
means,  the  divine  estimate  of  their  respective  offerings ;  as  there 
is  no  information  of  any  external  token  being  given  of  the  circum- 
stance, it  seems  certain  that  it  must  have  been  afforded  them,  by 
means  of  some  internal  evidence.  And  is  not  that  the  only  real 
evidence  which  a  man  can  have  of  his  position  in  the  church  of 
God  ?  The  divine  acceptance  or  rejection  of  human  worship,  is 
made  to  the  internal  sensations  of  the  worshiper,  rather  than  by 
any  external  signs.  Those  people  must  have  known,  from  the 
satisfactions  and  delights  which  attended  their  worship,  whether  it 
was  acceptable  or  otherwise.  So  far  as  it  was  genuine,  it  must 
have  been  admissive  of  a  holy  influence  fi-om  the  Lord,  and  so, 
of  an  indication  of  his  respect :  but  when  it  was  not  genuine,  that 
influence  could  not  enter  into  it,  and  surely  that  would  evidence 
its  rejection.  The  worshiper  is  still  gifled  with  some  tokens  of 
this  description,  which  testify  the  sincerity  or  imperfection  of  his 
love ;  and  his  experiences,  in  these  respects,  will  serve  to  show 
how  Cain  and  Abel  must  have  known  the  estimation,  in  which 
their  offerings  were  held.  If  a  man's  heart  be  not  set  right 
towards  God,  he  is  made  to  know,  by  his  consciousness  of  that 
fact,  that  his  offerings  cannot  be  regarded.  He  feels  his  affections 
tending  outwards  rather  than  upwards :  he  knows  that  his  thoughts 
wander  in  the  world,  while  his  words  may  be  expressing  the  sen- 
timents of  holiness :  he  is  fully  aware  that  he  dwells  in  nature 
only,  and  offers  nothing  but  the  fruit  of  the  ground. 

And  the  experience  of  this  consciousness,  on  the  part  of  Cain, 
is  thus  described :  "  He  was  very  wroth,  and  his  countenance  fell." 
This  circumstance  unfolds  his  character :  it  shows  that  charity 
was  gone,  anger  could  not  otherwise  have  possessed  him.  It 
proves  that  a  gloomy  state  was  induced  upon  his  mind,  or  his 
countenance  could  not  have  fallen.     The  feeling  of  wrath  is 


176  ANTEDILtrvIAN    HISTORr. 

opposed  to  the  sentiment  of  charity,  and  a  falling  of  the  counte- 
nance only  takes  place,  when  some  unfavorable  change  affects  the 
interiors  of  its  subject.  Anger  is  aroused  when  self-love  is  op- 
posed, and  that  love  is  contrary  to  the  love  of  God.  The  existence 
of  the  former  proves  the  absence  of  the  latter :  so  also,  the  coun- 
tenance, which  is  bright  and  pleasing,  when  enlightened  and 
influenced  by  a  benignity  within,  becomes  sad  and  falls,  when  the 
consciousness  of  impurity  is  felt.  Such  was  the  character  of 
Cain ;  and  by  his  history  we  are  informed  of  the  internal  state  and 
spiritual  danger,  of  all  those  people  among  whom  the  heresy  of 
his  religion  prevails.  That  his  state  was  of  such  a  quality  is  fur- 
ther confirmed,  by  its  being  said  to  him,  "  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt 
thou  not  be  accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  lieth  at  tlie 
door : "  he  did  not  do  well,  therefore,  he  was  not  accepted ;  his 
offering  was  the  form  of  worship  without  the  essence  :  and  similar 
disappointment  and  rejection  await  all  those,  who,  like  him,  know 
their  master's  will  but  do  it  not ;  who  know  the  way,  but  walk  not 
in  it ;  who  think  they  shall  be  heard  well,  because  they  speak 
much ;  who  have  enlarged  minds,  but  guilty  hearts ;  who  have  tha 
faith  of  knowledge,  but  not  the  charity  of  love. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  DEATH  OF  ABEL  —  THE   CURSE  ON  CAIN  ;    HIS  FUGITIVE  AND 
VAGABOND   CONDITION. 

"  During  the  first  eight  centuries  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches  were 
in  communion  with  each  other ;  but,  in  the  ninth  century,  their  dis- 
putes became  so  violent,  that  a  final  separation  took  place  between 
them.  A  Patriarch  was  elected  for  Constantinople,  as  the  head  of  the 
Greek  church ;  he  was  soon  excommunicated  by  the  Pope,  as  the  head 
of  the  Romish  church ;  the  Pope  in  return  was  excommunicated  by  the 
Patriarch."  —  Jones'  Dictionary  of  Religiom  Opinions,  p.  76. 

The  circumstances  recorded  to  have  constituted  the  successive 
decline  of  the  Adamic,  or  most  ancient  church,  are,  as  to  kind, 
very  similar  to  those  which  have  produced  the  corruptions  of  other 
religious  dispensations  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures.  They  are, 
also,  illustrated  by  facts,  which  history  assures  us,  have  brought 
about  the  extinction  of  various  institutions  of  a  religious  charac- 
ter, and  which,  at  the  time  of  their  origination,  were  intended  to 
promote  some  general  good.  For  a  period,  they  have  satisfacto- 
rily flourished  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  purposes  for  which 
they  were  establi'shsd  ;  but,  by  and  by,  their  quietude  has  been 


THE    WORD   OF   GOD    FOR   ALL    TIME.  177 

disturbed :  some  persons,  influenced  by  the  love  of  pre-eminence, 
have  sought  to  rule,  and  they  have  rudely  broken  in  upon  the  order 
and  the  happiness  which  previously  existed  with  such  institutions. 
Having  partaken  more  largely  of  knowledge  than  humility,  they 
sought  to  be  as  gods,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  their  designs,  they 
have  originated  dissensions  and  divisions :  one  party  has  obtained 
ascendency  over  another:  temporary  success  has  stimulated  the 
arrogance  of  selfishness,  until  it  has  wickedly  attempted  to  crush 
the  modesty  of  right  and  justice,  in  which  it  has  too  frequently 
been  successful. 

In  such  historical  facts,  we  have  -the  general  counterpart  of 
those  events,  which  brought  about  the  catastrophe  of  Abel's 
death ;  and,  viewed  under  this  aspect,  we  perceive,  in  the  antedi- 
luvian narrative,  a  history  of  the  development  of  human  passions, 
when  once  evil  had  introduced  its  unhallowed  presence  among 
them.  The  narrative,  in  having  responses  in  after-history,  not 
only  treats  of  the  lawless  activity  of  man's  fallen  nature  among 
an  ancient  people,  but  it  may  also  be  regarded  as  describing  cir- 
cumstances, which  have  been  enacted  over  and  over  again,  in- the 
wide  domain  of  religious  society :  it  is  not  only  the  written  picture 
of  events  which  have  frequently  distinguished  society,  but  it  is, 
also,  a  caligraphic  portrait  of  the  states  of  individual  men.  Do 
we  not  find  them  abusing  the  privileges  they  are  permitted  to 
enjoy,  and  so  preferring  personal  gratification  to  religious  obedi- 
ence ?  Do  not  our  experiences  assure  us,  that  we  have  produced 
a  separation  between  our  knowledge  and  our  duty  ?  and  have  we 
not  acted,  as  though  we  considered  them  to  be  distinct  things, 
instead  of  regarding  them  as  one?  Religious  knowledge  exists 
for  the  purpose  of  conducting  men  to  spiritual  obedience:  but 
every  one  knows  that  he  has  permitted  the  love  of  information  to 
acquire  an  ascendency  over  the  love  of  duty ;  and  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon case  to  find,  that  the  desire  of  duty  has  been  extinguished  in 
the  pursuit  of  knowledge :  and  thus,  that  Cain  has  slain  his  brother 
Abel. 

It  is  only  when  we  can  see  the  Word  of  God  to  have  a  uni- 
versal, continual,  and  particular  application  to  the  moral  experi- 
ences of  men,  both  in  their  collective  and  individual  conditions,  that 
we  possess  the  genuine  evidence  necessary  to  convince  us  that  it 
is  what  it  professes  to  be  —  a  revelation  from  God.  It  must  have 
been  the  Divine  Mind  which  caused  the  construction  of  the  narra- 
tive we  are  considering,  because  it  describes,  in  a  consecutive 


178  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

series,  facts,  which,  when  viewed  in  their  internal  sense,  have  their 
counterparts  in  the  experiences  of  religious  men.  None  but  God 
knoweth  what  is  in  man:  none  but  He  could  have  looked  into* 
futurity,  so  as  to  have  beheld  the  workings  and  displays  of  dis- 
ordered humanity,  and  thereupon,  have  caused  the  production  of  a 
work,  which  should  describe  them  with  the  minutiae  and  accuracy 
which  His  book  can  be  proved  to  do.  His  Word  is  for  all  time 
and  for  all  men.  To  suppose  that  it  was  merely  the  history  of  a 
particular  period  and  of  a  peculiar  people,  is  to  take  away  from  it 
the  majesty  and  eternity  of  its  purpose,  as  well  a&  to  overlook  the 
infinity  and  spirituality  cA'  its  origin.  It  is  written  of  Grod,  that 
without  a  parable  spake  he  not ;  (Matt.  xiii.  34  ;•)  the  most  marvel- 
lous and  accomplished  parable  of  revelation,  is  that  which  is  called 
the  Antediluvian  History :  and  we  now  come  to  that  podnt  of  it, 
which  informs  us-  of  the  death  of  Abel,  by  the  hand  of  Cain.  The 
catastrophe  is  thus  related :  —  "  And  Cain  talked  with  Abel  hi** 
brother,  and  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  Arere  in  the  field,  that 
Cain  rose  up  aguinst  Abel  his  brother,  and  slew  him.*'  (Gen.  iv.  &) 
This  result  sufficiently  indicates,  that  their  talking  together  is  to 
be  understood  as  expressing  the  idea  of  angry  disputation.  This 
was  tlie  natural  consequence  of  two  different  sects,  which  had 
branched  off*  from  the  most  ancient  church,  one  of  whom  was 
seeking  an  ascendency  over  the  otlier. 

It  is  no  uncommon  circumstance  for  rival  parties  in  religion  to 
be  found  in  the  bitterness  of  controversy.  Although  they  may  be 
in  the  same  field  together ;  or,  what  is  thereby  signified,  —  although 
they  may  profess  to  belong  to  the  same  general  religious  dispensa- 
tion, yet  the  particular  views,  Avhich  each  has  talf  en  of  some  of  its 
doctrines  and  discipline,  have  brought  them  into  collision,  and  tliey 
have  not  imfrequently  conducted  their  controversies,  more  in  the 
spirit  of  conquest  and  the  world,  than  under  the  influence  of  truth 
and  heaven.  The  history  of  the  Lutheran,  Calvinistic,  and  Armin- 
ian  parties  in  the  Christian  church,  displays  these  facts  with 
sufficient  clearness.  They  have  talked  together,  but  they  have 
talked  vehemently.  Luther  denounced  Erasmus  as  a  vain,  inglo- 
rious animal,  because  lie  exposed  some  of  the  religious  crudities 
which  "  the  reformer "  liad  published :  *  Calvin  caused  Servetus 
to  be  put  to  death,  because  he  dared  to  differ  from  him  in  religious 

*  His  words  are,  "That  exasperated  viper,  Erasmus,  has  again  attacked 
me  ;  what  eloquence  will  the  vain  inglorious  animal  display  in  the  ovei 
throw  of  Luther." 


llKLlGlOtJS    DISPUTES.  V79 

«pinion.*  The  controversies  founded  on  the  doctrines  of  Armin- 
ius,  involved  Switzerland  in  years  of  discord  :  and  otlier  branches 
of  the  professing  Christian  church,  which  have  had  greater  power 
and  more  audacity,  have  not  scrupled  at  any  means,  by  which  they 
<could  subdue  their  antagcmists  in  religious  things.  Sometimes 
they  have  had  recourse  to  violence  and  blood,  ratlier  than  not 
attain  the  supremacy  to  which  they  aspired.  This  has  been  the 
case,  not  merely  with  individuals,  of  which  the  martyrdoms  are  a 
sufficient  evidence,  but  it  is  true  of  whole  parties.  History  most 
distinctly  informs  us  of  several  instances,  in  which  one  sect  has 
wickedly  attempted  to  exterminate  another,  not  by  the  persuasions 
of  truth  and  reason,  but  by  the  weapons  of  cruelty  and  murder. 
The  Albigcnses  were  a  people,  who,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
attempted  to  effect  some  reform  in  tlie  church,  as  it  then  existed  ; 
their  views,  however,  were  condemned  in  council  by  the  ecclesi- 
astics of  the  time,  and  an  effort  was  thereupon  made  to  extermi- 
nate them  by  the  most  violent  persecutions.!  Another  instance  of 
a  similar  kind  is  presented  to  us  in  the  history  of  the  Waldenses ;  J 

*  "  When  Servetus  had  escaped  from  his  prison,  at  Vienna,  and  was 
passing  through  Switzerland,  in  order  to  seek  refuge  in  Italy,  Calvin 
caused  him  to  be  apprehended  at  Geneva,  in  the  year  1553,  and  had  an 
accusation  of  blasphemy  brought  against  him  before  the  counciL  The 
issue  of  this  accusation  was  fatal  to  Servetus,  who,  adhering  resolutely 
to  the  opinions  he  had  embraced,  was,  by  a  public  sentence  of  the  Court, 
declared  an  obstinate  heretic,  and  in  consequence  thereof,  condemned  to 
the  Barnes."  —  Mosheim,  Eccl.  Ili-st.  cent,  xvi.,  par.  iv.  Dr.  A.  Maclaine, 
the  translator,  observes,  that  "  It  is  impossible  to  justify  the  conduct  of 
Calvin  in  the  case  of  Servetus,  whose  death  will  be  an  injielible  reproach 
upon  the  character  of  that  great  and  eminent  reformer.  The  only  thing 
that  can  be  alleged,  not  to  efface,  but  to  diminish  his  crime,  is,  that  it  was 
no  easy  matter  for  him  to  divest  himself  at  once  of  that  persecuting 
spirit,  which  had  been  so  long  nourished  and  strengthened  by  the  popish 
religion,  in  which  he  had  been  educated.  It  was  a  remaining  pcrxion  of 
the  spirit  of  Popery  in  the  breast  of  Calvin,  that  kindled  his  unchristian 
zeal  against  the  wretched  Servetus," 

t  Limborch's  History  of  the  Inquisition,  translated  by  Chandler,  vol,  i. 
p.  42-70.  ^  ,    - 

J  "~The  injuries  and  insults  they  suffered  at  the  hands  of  many  orders 
of  men,  and  more  especially  of  the  Jesuits,  are  not  to  be  numbered.  In 
Poland,  all  those  who  ventured  to  differ  from  the  Pope,  found,  by  bitter 
experience,  during  the  whole  of  this  (I7th)  century,  that  no  treaty  or 
convention  that  tended  to  set  bounds  to  the  authority  or  rapacity  of  the 
church,  was  held  sacred,  or  even  regarded,  at  Rome,  For  majiy  of  these 
were  ejected  out  of  their  schools,  deprived  of  their  churches,  robbed  of 


180  ANTEDILXrVIAN   BISTOKr. 

and  that  of  the  Huguenots,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  diselossg 
unparalleled  atrocities.  They  were  a  sect  of  Protestants  who  rose 
up  in  France,  and,  for  having  separated  from  the  dominant  party 
of  tlie  Romish  church  at  that  time,  were  denounced  as  objects  of 
hatred.  Mosheim  informs  us  ihaty  "  After  having  groaned  for  a 
long  space  of  time,  under  various  form»  of  cruelty  and  oppression, 
and  seen  multitudes  of  their  brethren  put  to  death  by  secret  con- 
spiracies, or  open  tyranny  and  violence,  were,  at  lengtli,  obliged 
either  to  save  tliemselves  by  clandestine  flight,  or  to  profess, 
against  their  consciences,  the  Romish  religion."  * 

With  such  facts  of  history  before  us,  it  is  no  difficult  thing  to 
conceive  that  the  dispute  of  Cain  "vvith  Abel,  when  they  are  viewed 
as  religious  parties  in  the  most  ancient  church,  should  have  termi- 
nated in  the  more  bold  and  daring,  effecting  the  destruction  of  the 
more  modest  and  unresisting.  It  is  one  of  the  unhappy  conse- 
quences, which  attends  a  church,  during  the  process  of  its  decline 
from  wisdom  and  purity ;  it  is  then  that  evil  and  false  principles 
effect  an  entrance  and  perpetrate  their  mischiefs.  Tlie  sweetness 
of  charity  is  sacrificed  to  the  austerity  of  faith.  Creeds  have  tri- 
umphed over  virtue.  Innocence  has  suffered  in  the  struggle  ta 
establish  an  opinion.  Guilt  has  flourished  for  a  time,  and,  under 
the  injured  name  of  truth,  has  perpetrated  murder.  This  we  co©- 
ceive  to  be  the  general  idea  which  the  history  of  Abel's  death  by 
the  hands  of  Cain,  was  intended  to  convey  to  posterity.  How 
many  disasters  would  have  been  prevented  in  society,  if  the  moral 
of  it  had  been  practically  learnt  ?  But  alas  !  it  has  not  been  so. 
The  narrative*  describes  a  calamity,  which  must  attend  the  pres- 
ence of  false  principles  in  tlie  church,  during  the  process  of  its 
decline  and  fall :  it  is  also  a  revelation  of  their  consequences, 
which  have  been  verified  in  after-ages  by  a  hundred  facts. 

While  we  can  see  the  general  principle,  involved  in  the  decla- 

their  goods  and  possessions,  under  a  variety  of  perfidious  pretexts  ;  nay, 
frequently  condemned  to  the  most  severe  and  cruel  punishments,  •without 
having  been  even  chargeable  with  the  appearance  of  crime.  The  remains 
of  the  Waldenses,  that  lived  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  were  persecuted 
often  with  the  most  inhuman  cruelty  (and  more  especially  in  the  years 
1632,  1655,  and  1685,)  on  account  of  their  magnanimous  and  steadfast 
attachment  to  the  religion  of  their  ancestors ;  and  this  persecution  was 
carried  on  \yith  all  the  horrors  of  fire  and  sword,  by  the  Dukes  of  Savoy." 
—'Mosheim,  cent,  xy'ii., part  1, par.  viii. 

*  Eccl.  Hist.  cent,  xvii.,  part  1,  par.  ix.  See  also,  the  second  chapter 
o^  the  second  part  throughout. 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF   ABEL,  181 

ration  of  Cain,  talking  with  his  brother  Abel,  and  subsequently 
slaying  him,  let  us  endeavor  to  examine  the  subject  a  little  farther, 
in  order  to  comprehend  the  statements  in  their  more  particular  form. 
Their  talking,  as  it  was  said,  plainly  indicates  an  angry  disputa- 
tion: the  result  proves  the  truth  of  this  induction.  Divisions 
having  broken  in  upon  the  unity  of  the  most  ancient  church, 
doctrinal  disagreements  would,  in  the  process  of  time,  manifest 
themselves  in  various  forms,  more  or  less  malignant.  Cain,  or, 
what  is  the  same  thing,  those  who  maintained,  that  faith  grounded 
in  the  knowledge  of  truth,  constituted  the  excellency  of  religion, 
would  talk  authoritatively,  and  wield  an  intellectual  power  over 
Abel,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  those  who  were  influenced  by 
the  docility  and  gentleness  of  charity.  Those  who  love  charity, 
love  peace.  They  prefer  to  let  their  lives,  rather  than  their  words, 
speak  of  the  uprightness  of  their  heart  and  the  integrity  of  their 
character.  The  intelligence  of  their  faith  shows  itself  in  the 
purity  of  their  works :  what  they  know  of  truth  fixes  itself  in 
amiability  and  loveliness  of  conduct.  They  are  actuated  by  an 
affirmative  principle,  and,  in  their  communications  on  points  of 
difierence,  will  say  little  more  than  "  Yea,  yea :  Nay,  nay,"  be- 
cause they  are  well  assured  that  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
has  come  of  evil.  Their  religion  is  exhibited  in  the  meekness  and 
moderation  of  their  deportment.  They  will  give  to  every  one  that 
asketh  them,  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  them,  but  they  cannot 
enforce  their  views  by  contention  and  the  strife  of  words.  They 
cannot  talk  rudely,  and  so  irreverently,  about  heavenly  things. 
They  remember  the  sanctity  of  good,  and  endeavor  to  preserve  it 
with  every  care.  If  opposed  by  those  who  are  in  the  pride  of 
intellect,  they  will  state  their  views  of  truth  with  lucidity  and 
clearness,  but  they  will  carefully  eschew  the  risings  of  an  angry 
disputation.  They  fear  lest  they  should  imbibe  an  ungenerous 
spirit,  and  prefer  that  their  opponent  should  acquire  the  reputation 
of  a  conqueror,  rather  than  endanger  the  good  they  may  possess, 
by  entering  into  the  heat  and  virulence  of  controversy.  "  Charity 
suffereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  charity  envieth  not ;  charity  vaunteth 
not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up,  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seek- 
eth  not  her  own,  is  not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil ;  rejoiceth 
not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ;  beareth  all  thuigs,  hopeth 
all  things,  endureth  all  things.  Charity  never  faileth."  (1  Cor. 
xiii.  4-8.)  They  who  are  led  by  this  holy  principle,  care  not  so 
much  about  the  talking  part  of  religion :  they  regard  the  doing  of 
16 


182  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

their  duty  in  all  the  relationships  of  life,  to  be  of  the  first  import- 
"vnce.  They  are  ever  attentive  to  acts  of  benevolence  and  use, 
and  experience  happiness  in  the  diligent  performance  of  them : 
and  they  will  be  found  to  submit  to  sufferings  and  pjersecution 
for  righteousness'  sake,  rather  than  be  driven  into  resistance  by 
violence  and  oppression.  Such  were  the  characteristics  of  the 
people  called  Abel. 

But  Cain,  or  those  who  believe  that  the  knowledges  of  faith  arc 
the  principal  things  of  religion,  are  not  satisfied  with  so  mild  and 
amiable  a  course.  They  cannot  endure  that  any  should  hold 
sentiments  different  from  their  own,  and  every  one  whose  views 
do  not  harmonize  with  their  ideas  of  faith,  is  construed  into  an  ad- 
versary, and  regarded  with  disdain.  They  dispute  with  vehemence, 
and  break  into  anger  in  the  midst  of  argumentatiouj  because  they 
are  destitute  of  the  charity  that  would  keep  them  placid.  They 
pretend  that  charity  is  only  the  ornament  of  religion,  and  not 
necessary  to  the  salvation  of  the  believer.  With  them,  faith,  and 
not  virtue,  is  the  essential  thing.  This  has  been  the  ground  of 
those  supposed  conversions  which  certain  wicked  persons  are  said 
to  have  experienced,  when  under  the  influence  of  affliction,  or  the 
fear  of  death.  Such  persons,  because  they  could  serve  them- 
selves no  longer,  are  then  persuaded  to  have  faith  in  God,  and 
that  that  will  save  them.  But  of  such  the  Lord  has  said,  "  Depart 
from  me,  I  never  knew  you."  From  the  same  pestilential  source, 
some  criminals,  who  have  forfeited  their  lives  by  the  atrocity  of 
their  conduct,  have  been  said  to  have  become  religious,  and  to 
have  died  in  penitence  and  hope ;  so  that  the  scaffold  has  not 
unfrequently  been  exhibited  as  no  obstacle  in  the  way  to  heaven. 
Merciful  God!  to  what  detestable  results  have  men  been  led, 
through  the  adoption  of  false  principles  in  religion,  and  which,  in 
their  audacity,  they  have  said  were  thine ! 

Those  who  suppose  that  faith  only,  and  thus  faith  separate  from 
charity,  is  the  essential  thing  of  the  church,  and  so  the  principal 
thing  in  man's  salvation,  overlook  this  circumstance,  that  no  one 
can  procure  genuine  faith  who  is  not  first  in  the  love  of  something 
that  is  good ;  also,  that  good  cannot  be  obtained  but  in  a  state  of 
liberty,  nor  fixed  in  the  life  until  it  is  practised.  Faith,  then,  is 
the  offspring  of  charity,  for  charity  is  good,  and  thus  the  living 
and  essential  thing  of  religion  and  salvation.  But  the  belief  of 
these  truths  is  no  part  of  the  Solifidian's  faith.  His  great  effort  is 
to  set  the  speculations  of  faith  above  the  excellences  of  virtue. 


THE    INQUIRY   AFTER    ABEL.  183 

He  struggles  incessantly  to  obtain  pre-eminence  for  faith.  He 
entertains  no  kindly  sentiments  for  those  who  differ  from  hun. 
He  cherishes  no  affectionate  regard  for  spiritual  good  :  he  asserts 
that  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  it,  and  so  he  does  not  look  upon 
charily  as  his  spiritual  brother,  but  disputes  with  those  who  think 
it  is  so,  rejects  their  arguments,  and  neglects  their  virtues.  The 
non-resisting  character  of  those  who  are  in  charity,  is  construed 
by  liim  into  a  want  of  confidence  in  its  superiority.  He  treats  the 
humility  of  charity  as  the  docility  of  ignorance  ;  its  submissiveness 
is  pronounced  to  be  cowardice,  and  then  it  is  destroyed.  It  is  thus 
that  Cain  rises  against  his  brother,  and  Abel  perishes! 

When  Abel  is  slain,  —  when  men  destroy  the  life  of  charity  in 
themselves,  by  rejecting  it  as  no  essential  thing  of  religion  or  sal- 
vation, —  when  they  think  works  of  virtue  will  not  aid  their  upward 
progress,  they  are  not  far  from  believing  that  acts  of  vice  will  not 
prevent  it ;  and  so  the  doctrine  of  ^^  faith  only,^''  is  no  safeguard 
against  the  perpetration  of  any  enormity  which  their  lusts  may 
prompt.  Hence  it  was,  that  Cain,  by  whom  this  doctrine  was 
represented  and  sustained,  is  recorded  to  have  committed  the 
highest  crime.  Men  do  not  fall  into  guilty  practices  toward  their 
fellow-men,  until  they  have  wounded  charity  in  themselves.  The 
inquisition,  the  rack,  and  the  fagot,  were  the  inventions  of  those  in 
whom  the  sentiment  of  genuine  charity  had  perished.  In  having 
recourse  to  these  enormities,  they  professed,  indeed,  to  be  actuated 
by  a  principle  of  religion,  but  then,  it  was  only  in  the  shape  of  a 
creed,  and  not  in  the  form  of  love.  It  was  something  which  they 
regarded  as  faith,  without  its  amiable  and  forbearing  brother,  and 
hence,  they  persecuted  and  destroyed  their  neighbor,  under  the 
horrid  persuasion,  that  by  so  acting,  they  were  doing  God  service. 

These  considerations  help  us  to  see,  that  by  Cain's  slaying  his 
brother  Abel,  is  denoted,  that  those  who  were  in  the  mere  doctri- 
nals  of  faith,  rejected  the  life  of  charity,  and  thus  became  admis- 
sive of  all  those  evil  influences,  implied  in  the  curse  which  was 
■  pronounced  upon  him. 

We  now  come  to  notice  some  other  circumstances,  which  the 
narrative  reveals,  concerning  Cain.  And,  first,  the  Lord  said  unto 
him,  "  Where  is  Abel,  thy  brother  ?  "     (Gen.  iv.  9.) 

The  Lord  is  frequently  treated  of  in  the  Scriptures,  as  speaking 
to  various  persons  :  but  by  this  we  are  not  to  understand  oral  com- 
munication, like  that  which  takes  place  between  man  and  man,  in 
the  expression  of  his  thoughts.    The  Lord  does  not  so  effect  his 


184  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTOKT. 

intercourse  with  men.  By  his  speaking,  especially  to  the  ^ilty, 
IS  meant,  in  g-eneral,  an  internal  dictate,  produced  either  through 
the  human  perceptions  or  conscience.  Conscience  is  the  peculiar 
inheritance  of  man :  it  is  one  of  the  evidences  of  his  spirituality, 
and  by  which  he  is  distinguished  from  the  brutes^  who  have  it  not. 
It  is  formed  in  man  during  the  early  years  of  his  existence,  by 
means  of  the  affections,  attentions,  and  moral  instructions  of  liis 
parents  and  friends ;  but  more  particularly,  by  the  teachings  of 
what  are  good  and  true :  and  all  good  and  truth  are  the  Lord's, 
communicated  to  man  through  such  mediums  as  his  state  requires : 
that  medium  is  now  the  Word.  When  man,  at  any  time,  trans- 
gresses those  principles  in  which  he  has  been  trained,  he  is  made 
to  feel  internal  pain  and  reproof.  The  pain  arises  from  a  mental 
sense  of  the  violence,  which  has  been  done  to  something  that  is 
good  ;  and  the  reproof,  from  a  perception  of  the  injury  which  has 
been  inflicted  on  something  that  is  true  ;  and  this  mental  sense  is 
the  Divine  voice,  uttering  its  complaints  within.  It  speaks  a  sen- 
sible and  a  nervous  language,  and  leaves  impressions  not  readily 
forgotten.  We  know  that  such  experiences  do  not  come  to  u» 
from  without :  we  feel  that  they  originate  in  a  dictate  from  within, 
and  thus,  that  they  come  from  a  higher  and  a  holier  source  than 
ourselves.  It  is  easy,  then,  to  see  that  the  Lord  speaks  with  men 
in  the  dictate  of  some  internal  principle,  formed  and  disciplined 
by  means  of  the  Divine  teachings. 

This  dictate  to  Cain,  in  the  instance  before  us,  was  riiade  upon 
his  perception,  and  it  concerned  the  violence  which  he  had  done 
to  charity.  It  is  thus  expressed  :  "  Where  is  Abel,  thy  brother  ?  " 
It  was  an  internal  impression,  inquiring  what  was  become  of  the 
innocence,  the  peace,  and  tranquility,  that  were  enjoyed  before 
charity  was  slain  ;  it  was  a  spiritual  investigation,  giving  the  as- 
surance of  guilt,  by  the  sensations  of  pain.  The  fact,  with  Cain, 
was  similar  to  that  which  the  guilty  have  experienced  in  after-ages. 
They  know  that  this  description  of  their  state  is  true :  hot  what  is 
their  practical  answer  to  such  an  inquiry  ?  It  partakes  of  the  false 
position  in  which  their  guilt  has  placed  them ;  and  it  is  forcibly 
expressed  in  the  reply  which  Cain  is  declared  to  have  made,  name- 
ly, "  I  know  not ;  am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  "  They  who  are  not 
willing  to  be  connected  with,  or  influenced  by,  charity,  strive  to 
make  light  of  the  guilt  that  has  extinguished  it.  They  who  pro- 
duce the  death  of  Abel,  are  thereby  brought  into  a  state,  which,  in  , 
acme  measure,  prevents  them  from  seeing  the  enormity  of  their 


185 

crime.  The  criminal  does  not  see  his  wickedness  in  so  hideous  a 
form,  as  society  who  has  suffered  from  its  malignity.  They  who 
cherish  ill-will  and  hatred  towards  their  neighbor,  think  very  lightly 
of  the  enormity  they  are  committing:  such  persons  see  in  their 
neighbor  nothing  but  inferiority  and  fault :  They  know  him  not, 
nor  do  they  conceive  why  they  should  be  regarded  as  his  keeper. 
They,  practically,  reason  with  themselves,  and  say.  Why  should 
they  serve  him  ?  Why  should  they  be  inquired  of  concerning  him  ? 
Why  should  he  stand  in  the  way  of  their  success  ?  Such  base 
reasonings  as  these,  express  the  depraved  conditions  of  their  hearts, 
from  which  they  strive  to  remove  every  obstacle  to  the  foul  domin- 
ion which  they  seek,  so  far  as  they  can  command  the  power,  and 
use  it  with  safety  to  themselves. 

Thus  it  is,  that  those  who  are  principled  in  the  doctrine  which 
Cain  represented,  like  him,  make  light  of  charity,  even  when  it  is 
inquired  after :  and  that  they  entirely  reject  it,  is  signified  by  his 
contemptuous  inquiry,  "  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  "  —  in  other 
words,  What  have  I  to  do  with  him  ? 

Nevertheless,  this  daring  on  the  part  of  Cain,  did  not  suppress 
the  urgency  of  the  inner  dictate :  it  forcibly  accused -him  of  having 
offered  violence  to  charity,  and  strongly  convicted  him  of  the  crime, 
by  making  him  conscious  of  his  guilt;  which  circumstances  are 
described,  by  the  Lord  saying  to  Cain,  "  The  voice  of  thy  brother's 
blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground."  "  The  voice  of  thy  broth- 
er," denotes  the  accusation  of  charity ;  his  "  blood,"  is  intended 
to  express  the  idea  of  its  rejection  and  death ;  and  this  is  said  to 
have  "  cried  from  the  ground,"  to  inform  us,  that  the  destruction 
of  charity  arose  from  the  heresy,  into  which  the  people,  called  Cain, 
had  fallen:  and  therefore,  they  are  pronounced  to  have  been 
cursed. 

Now,  all  cursing  comes  from  evil :  God  is  not,  cannot  be,  the 
source  of  it.  Man  produces  it,  by  turning  himself  away  from  God ; 
and  he  does  this,  whensoever  he  prefers  his  own  will  to  God's 
teachings.  The  sun  is  not  the  author  of  darkness;  he  is  ever 
shining:  but  darkness  comes  by  the  earth's  rotating  from  him. 
They  who,  like  Cain,  know  truth,  and  do  it  not,  turn  themselves 
away  from  God,  and  so  become  averse  to  what  is  good.  All  bless- 
ing comes  to  men  as  they  love  the  good  of  charity :  all  cursing 
overtakes  them  as  they  banish  and  extinguish  this  :  for,  in  this  case, 
cruelty,  immercifulness,  and  hatred  enter  in ;  and  thereupon,  the 
bond  is  broken  between  man  and  God ;  consequently,  the  means 
16* 


186  ANTEDrLUVlAN    HiSTORr, 

of  blessing  is  dissolved,  and  tlie  opposite  state,  is  that  of  bein^ 
cursed :  for,  as  it  was  said,  all  cursing  comes  to  men  throiigh  the 
entering  in  of  evil,  which  faith  alone  cannot  prevent.  That  man 
may  be  in  such  a  faith,  and  yet  in  a  state  of  condemnation,  is  plain, 
from  its  being  written,  "  The  devils  believe,  and  tremble."  (Jamea 
ii.  19.)  It  is  a  fearful  state,  to  know  what  is  right,  and  do  it  not. 
The  Lord  has  thus  described  it :  "  Every  one  that  hearetli  these 
sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto  a  fool- 
ish man,  which  built  his  house  upon  the  sand ;  and  the  rain  de- 
scended, and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon 
that  house,  and  it  fell ;  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it."  (Matt.  vii„ 
26,  27.) 

But  the  nature  of  the  curse  which  befel  Cain,  is  more  particular- 
ly described,  by  its  being  said  to  him,  "  When  thou  tillest  the 
ground,  it  shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto  thee  her  strength :  a 
fugitive  and  a  vagabond  shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth."  (Gen.  iv.  12.) 
Adam  was  told  that  the  ground  was  cursed,  and  would  bring  forth 
thorns  and  thistles :  and  now,  Cain  was  informed,  that  it  should 
not  yield  her  strength.  Every  one  who  will  reflect,  must  see  that 
the  statement  is  not  intended  to  express  any  hindrance  to  the 
natural  prolification  of  the  land ;  and  also,  that  something  of  a  spir- 
itual character  must  be  meant.  Natural  laws  and  spiritual  laws 
operate  distinctly  from  each  other.  The  spiritual  laws  by  which  a 
man  becomes  good,  and  the  natural  laws  by  which  his  land  be- 
comes productive,  are  of  two  different  kinds.  There  may  be  an 
analogy  between  them,  but  they  are  not  dependent  on  each  other 
for  their  effects.  It  is  a  natural  law,  that  if  the  earth  be  tilled,  it 
will  produce  its  increase,  whether  the  man  who  tilled  it  be  good 
or  bad.  The  good  man's  garden  will  not  grow  Mm  fruit&,  if  he  be 
inattentive  to  the  natural  laws  of  production.  The  bad  mane's 
ground  is  not  barren,  if  he  duly  attend  to  the  requirements  of  the 
soil.  It  is4)lain,  then,  the  statement  made  to  Cain,  namely,  "  When 
thou  tillest  the  ground  it  shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto  thee  her 
strength,"  is  designed  to  announce,  not  a  physical  result,  but  a  con- 
sequence of  the  action  of  some  spiritual  law.  What  this  is,  will 
presently  appear. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  in  a  former  chapter,  it  was  shown 
that  the  ground  Avas  an  emblem  of  the  natural  state,  or  mind,  of 
the  celestial  man ;  and  also,  that  his  fall  consisted  in  his  descent 
from  his  celestial  condition  into  that  natural  state,  or  mind,  again ; 
and  thereby,  carrying  into  it  the  seeds  of  transgression.     It  then 


CAIN    TILLING   THE   GROUND.  187 

became  his  work  to  till  this  ground,  which  denoted,  the  rooting  up, 
by  means  of  repentance,  the  weeds  and  briers,  the  thorns  and  this- 
tles, of  transgressive  life,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  natural  mind, 
for  the  reception  of  the  seeds  of  truth  and  goodness.  But  this  im- 
portant duty,  by  which  it  was  intended  to  raise  him  out  of  his  cor- 
ruptions, had  not  been  properly  attended  to.  The  people,  it  Avas 
seen,  became  divided  into  sects,  and  that  of  Cain  cultivated  the 
ground  of  the  natural  mind,  so  as  to  produce  the  erroneous  persua- 
sion, that  faith  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  form  the  religious 
character,  and  to  realize  religious  hopes.  By  this,  they  fell  into 
the  deeper  wickedness  of  extinguishing  all  spiritual  good,  —  they 
rose  against  Abel  and  slew  him.  Hence  their  faith  became  a 
heresy  ;  for  the  faith  that  rejects  charity,  as  a  means  of  acceptance 
with  the  Lord,  is  not  from  heaven,  but  from  fallen  man.  The 
ground  of  Cain  was  still  the  natural  mind  of  the  people  so  called ; 
but,  by  the  destruction  of  charity,  it  became  infested  with  false  no- 
tions, both  of  religion  and  themselves.  The  will  having  become 
corrupt,  the  understanding  partook  of  the  depravity.  When  men 
commence  to  love  what  is  evil,  they  soon  begin  to  think  what  is 
false.  The  head  is  soon  seduced,  when  the  heart  is  foul ;  so  tliat 
heresies  arise  among  mankind  from  the  prevalence  of  evil.  Men 
are  expert  in  reasoning  in  favor  of  the  things  they  love,  —  they 
strive  to  believe  what  they  desire.  Cain's  love  had  now  become  the 
love  of  self,  for  he  had  hated  and  destroyed  his  brother,  and  all  his 
notions  and  opinions  acquired  a  tincture  from  this  iniquity,  and  thus 
his  faith  became  a  heresy.  It  was  the  heresy  of  believing,  that 
mere  knowledge  and  persuasion  would  save,  which  now  constituted 
the  ground  of  his  natural  mind.  To  till  this  ground,  was,  to  cul- 
tivate this  heresy  :  but  he  was  told,  that  it  would  not  yield. its 
strength.  Providence  mercifully  interrupts  the  course  of  the 
wicked ;  and  God  designs  that  interruption  to  be  a  blessing,  but 
they  receive  it  otherwise.  It  disturbs  their  loves,  —  it  hinders  their 
pursuits,  —  and  so  retards  the  progress  of  malignity.  And  is  not 
this  an  actual  blessing?  Most  certainly  it  is!  Still,  it  is  re- 
garded as  a  misfortune  and  a  curse,  by  those  who  are  its  sub- 
jects. The  people,  called  Cain,  tilled  their  ground,  —  they  cul- 
tivated the  heresy  into  which  they  had  fallen :  they  were  informed, 
that  it  should  not  yield  her  strength,  —  that  it  could  not  bring  forth 
acceptable  fruits.  In  other  words,  they  were  told,  that  the  good 
and  excellent  things  of  heaven  could  not  grow  oat  of  a  perverted 
mind.     We  cannot  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  nor  figs  of  thistles. 


188  ANTEDILITVIAN    HISTORY. 

Religious  heresies  have  never  been  productive  of  any  good  to  so- 
ciety :  it  is  impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  they  should ; 
because,  in  such  case,  the  ground  of  the  natural  mind,  is  not  tilled 
to  bring  forth  virtue,  but  to  grow  arguments  and  opinions  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  schism.  How  many  have  quarrelled,  and 
fought,  and  died,  in  the  defence  of  an  opinion,  which  time,  and 
the  advancement  of  knowledge,  have  proved  to  be  false !  How 
many  heresies  have  arisen  in  the  church,  which  have  successively 
perished,  with  the  sole  exception  of  a  name  in  history !  Their 
professors  tilled  this  heretical  ground,  with  assiduity  and  zeal,  but 
it  did  not  improve  the  condition  or  enlarge  the  virtues  of  society : 
it  served  rather  to  increase  their  subtlety,  and  impart  severity  to 
their  characters,  and  hence  the  heresies  have  passed  away.  This 
result  is  in  agreement  with  the  apostolic  statement,  "  If  this  coun- 
cil, or  this  work,  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  nought :  but  if  it  be 
of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow  it;  lest,  haply,  ye  be  found  to  fight 
against  God."    (Acts  v.  38,  39.) 

The  natural  mind,  infested  with  schismatical  notions  about  re- 
ligious things,  howsoever  it  may  be  cultivated,  does  not  yield  its 
strength :  falsehood  and  fallacy  weaken  its  powers,  and  prevent  it 
from  going  to  those  sources  which  furnish  information.  The  cul- 
tivation of  error,  instead  of  yielding  the  intellectual  strength  of 
the  mind,  develops  its  weakness ;  and  this,  together  with  its  non- 
production  of  benefits  and  use,  brings  it  into  merited  disgrace  and 
ruin :  and  in  these  facts,  we  learn  in  what  the  curse  of  Cain  con- 
sisted. When  the  heresy  which  destroyed  charity  in  the  church 
began  to  be  cultivated  by  itself,  it  was  found  to  produce  no  fruits 
of  moral  and  spiritual  use,  and  to  yield  no  strength  of  intellectual 
knowledge.  Cain's  water  was  nought  and  his  ground  was  barren, 
so  that  he  became  "  a  fugitive  and  vagabond  in  the  earth."  * 

These  things  are  predicated  of  the  religious  state  of  Cain, 
rather  than  of  their  physical  and  outer  condition.  A  fugitive  is 
one  who  runs  away  from  the  demands  of  duty,  and  a  vagabond  is 
a  wanderer  whb  has  no  settled  habitation.  The  people  called 
Cain  had  these  two  epithets  applied  to  them,  with  the  view  of  ex- 
pressing the  idea  that  they  had,  as  to  their  will,  ran  away  from  the 
love  of  goodness,  and  that,  as  to  their  understanding,  they  had  no 
gettle^  conception  of  truth.  •  The  same  words  are  applied  in  the 

i        - ; 

*  *  ^eptuagint  renders  this  passage,  "  groaning  and  trembling  on  the 
earth."  The  above,  however,  is  the  more  correct  expression  of  the  origi- 
nal Hebrew,  '  "'^'^ktjj. 


gain's  fear.  189 

historical  portion  of  the  Scriptures  to  other  parties,  with  a  like 
signification.  The  terms  jled  and  wander,  also  denote  the  same 
ideas  ;  which  an  instance  will  sufficiently  illustrate.  The  prophet 
Isaiah,  speaking  "  of  the  valley  of  vision,"  says,  "  All  thy  rulers 
WANDER  together,  they  are  bound  by  the  archers :  all  that  are 
found  in  thee  are  bound  together  which  have  fled  from  far." 
(Isaiah  xxii.  3.)  Where,  by  the  valley  of  vision,  is  represented 
the  phantasy  of  a  religion  of  faith  without  charity :  the  wandering 
of  its  rulers  denotes  the  unsteady  condition  of  its  knowledges : 
all  that  were  found  in  it,  under  such  circumstances,  are  mere  per- 
versions of  good,  and  hence  they  are  said  to  have  "  fled  from  far." 
The  Lord,  and  all  genuine  goodness,  are  far  away  from  such  a 
state.  Thus  Cain  was  called  a  fugitive,  to  denote  that  his  affec- 
tions had  run  away  from  good ;  and  he  is  pronounced  to  be  a  vag- 
abond, to  signify  the  wandering  character  of  his  understanding  in 
respect  to  truth ;  whence  we  learn,  that  all  those  who,  like  liim, 
profess  and  cherish  a  religion  of  faith  which  i&  not  grounded  in 
charity,  are  pronounced  to  be  fugitives  and  vagabonds  in  the 
church. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

gain's      complaint     and     apprehensions:  —  THE     MARK     SET     UPON 
HIM -FOR    HIS    PRESERVATION. 

"The  goodness  and  love  of  God  have  no  limits  or  bounds,  but  such  as 
his  omnipotence  hath :  and  every  thing  that  hath  a  possibility  of  par- 
taking of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  will  infallibly  find  a  place  in  it." — 
Law's  Appeal,  p.  88. 

When  the  affections  of  men  fly  away  from  what  is  good,  and 
their  thoughts  are  turned  away  from  what  is  true,  they  are  neces- 
sarily brought  into  a  state  in  which  pain  must  be  experienced  and 
danger  apprehended.  We  say,  this  is  the  necessary  consequence 
of  such  a  procedure,  because,  it  is  a  Divine  law,  that  a  sense  of 
happiness  and  security  springs  out  of  the  love  and  practice  of 
what  is  wise  and  virtuous ;  and  consequently,  that  a  departure  from 
that  law,  must  be  attended  with  opposite  results.  This  was  a  con- 
dition, of  which  Cain  had  now  become  sensible,  and  to  record  it, 
he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  My  punishment  is  greater  than  I 
can  bear."     (Gen.  iv.  13.) 

Perception,  which  then  stood  in  the  place  of  that  which  was 
conscience  in  after-ages,  was  not  entirely  destroyed;  there  yet 


190 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 


remained  some  of  its  corrective  impulses  and  suggestions,  and 
these  gave  rise  to  those  utterances  of  deep  despair.  Nor  was  the 
painful  sensations  of  their  present  state  the  sole  cause  of  their 
hopelessness ;  they  had  a  foresight  of  calamity  in  the  future,  and 
hence  Cain  is  described  to  have  said,  unto  the  Lord,  "  I  shall  be 
driven  from  thy  face,  and  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  every  one  that 
findeth  me  shall  slay  me."  (Gen.  iv.  14.)  Such  were  the  natural 
anticipations  of  a  religious  community,  who  were  in  the  process 
of  being  convinced  that  they  had  extinguished  the  good  and  falsi- 
fied the  truth,  which  God  had  mercifully  entrusted  to  their  care 
and  observance.  It  is  plain,  that  the  dread  which  is  declared, 
does  not  relate  to  the  fear  of  natural  life  being  destroyed,  but  to 
the  alarm  occasioned  by  a  perception  of  the  danger  to  which 
spiritual  life  was  exposed.  According  to  the  literal  sense,  there 
was  only  himself,  with  Adam,  and  his  mother,  then  in  existence. 
Who,  then,  was  he  to  fear  ?  By  whom  could  such  a  deed  of 
death  be  done  ?  *   . 

But,  on  tlie  admission  that  there  were  other  persons,  of  whose 
origination  and  existence  the  history  does  not  speak,  we  can  hardly 
suppose  that  every  one  of  them  would  have  been  so  exasperated 
by  his  iniquity,  as  to  be  ready  to  take  upon  himself  the  power 
of  inflicting  judicial  vengeance.  In  our  own  time,  the  great 
mass  of  mankind  shrink  in  dismay  from  such  an  idea.  An  execu- 
tioner is  instinctively  felt  to  be  a  horrid  character.  This,  however, 
is  not  the  subject  treated  of:  this  will  be  very  apparent  after  a 
moment's  attention  to  the  peculiar  structure  of  the  sentence  which 
expresses  the  fear,  namely,  "  Every  one  that  findeth  me,  shall  slay 
me."  Now  "  every  one  "  that  found  him  could  not  do  it ;  f  he  had 
but  one  life  to  lose,  and  this  could  not  have  been  taken  by  every 
one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  It  is  therefore  evident,  that 
the  statement  does  not  relate  to  the  infliction  of  natural  death,  and 

*  In  the  note  at  page  69,  is  cited,  the  supposition  on  which  a  large 
number  of  persons  may  be  considered  as  existing  in  the  time  of  Cain. 
Those  who  have  adopted  that  view,  to  avoid  the  difficulty  which  the  literal 
sense  of  this  portion  of  the  history  suggests,  seem  not  to  have  observed 
that  by  such  an  opinion  they  are  in  collision  with  the  apostle,  who  as- 
serts, that  Enoch  was  the  seventh  from  Adam.     Jude  13. 

f  Cain's  words  may  be  thought  to  be  only  a  general,  and  loose  expres- 
sion of  his  fears  that  some  one  would  avenge  themselves  upon  him  :  but 
no  one  who  considers  that  revelation  is  verbally  accurate,  and  that  every 
expression  is  significant  of  an  appropriate  idea,  can  reasonably  adhere  to 
such  a  notion. 


PEAR,   THE    KESULt    OF    WRONG-DOING.  191 

that  we  must  refer  for  its  true  meaning,  to  the  phenomena  which 
take  place  with  the  inner  life  of  fallen  man.  It  is  there  alone  that 
we  can  find  the  realization  of  those  sensations,  of  which  Cain's 
language  is  expressive.  They  who  are  principled  in  evils  of  any 
kind,  thereby  expose  their  spiritual  life  to  spiritual  assailants.  In- 
fernal influences  and  thoughts  rush  into  every  avenue,  which  is 
opened  in  the  mind  by  human  wickedness,  so  that  they  will  soon 
become  a  legion.  It  is  the  evils,  which  pass  into  the  hearts  of 
guilty  men,  which  make  them  fear.  There  is  a  well-known  prov- 
erb in  the  church,  which  says,  "  Be  sure  your  sins  will  find  you 
out."  It  is  these  which  infest  the  guilty  with  trepidation  and 
alarm,  because  they  threaten  the  entire  extinction  of  all  spiritual 
life.  The  language  of  Cain's  fear  of  every  one,  then,  expresses 
the  internal  consternation  which  was  experienced  by  that  people, 
upon  the  entrance  of  every  evil  influence,  to  which  they  had  ex- 
posed themselves.  Having  perverted  the  truth  of  faith,  and  de- 
stroyed charity,  as  their  spiritual  brother,  they  were  brought  within 
the  sphere  of  terrible  temptations.  These  met  them  upon  every 
side,  and,  entering  into  them,  eflfected  their  distresses.  Their 
fears,  for  the  dangerous  condition  of  their  spiritual  life,  sprung 
out  of  the  severity  of  their  temptation.  Their  power  over  the 
means  for  the  preservation  of  spiritual  good,  had  become  exceed- 
ingly weak.  They  felt  that  every  means  of  happiness  was  fast  de- 
parting ;  for,  having  destroyed  charity,  they  possessed  no  power 
for  its  retentioii.  Thus  they  were  reduced  into  a  state  of  the  most 
painful  anxiety  and  deep  disquiet. 

And  these  ancient  experiences  have  had  their  counterpart  among 
transgressors  in  after-times.  Do  we  not  know,  that  every  violation 
of  the  laws  of  good,  has  been  attended  with  fears,  both  external 
and  internal:  external  fear,  lest  we  should  be  discovered  and  ex- 
posed ;  and  internal  fear,  lest  our  spiritual  disquiet  should  result 
in  the  destruction  of  that  happiness,  which  man  regards  to  be  his 
inner  life?  Thus,  if  we  fall  into  the  guilt  of  rejecting  charity 
from  our  affections,  we  open  out  the  way  for  a  multitude  of  evil 
delights  and  false  persuasions  to  enter  in,  every  one  of  which 
brings  its  poison,  and  threatens  us  with  death.  The  experiences 
of  the  men  of  the  church  in  our  own  times,  satisfactorily  explain 
the  statement  of  Cain's  fears.  Evil  is  alike  in  its  consequences  at 
all  periods,  and  it  only  differs  in  the  degree  of  its  enormity.  It 
produces  similar  results  among  all  men ;  more  or  less  severe,  as 
the  conscience  may  have  been  more  or  less  accurately  formed. 


192  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

The  punishment  of  which  Cain  complained,  was  a  condition  of 
moral  agony,  produced  by  the  presence  of  evil,  admitted  through 
the  destruction  of  charity ;  and  his  fear,  lest  every  one  finding  him 
should  slay  him,  denoted  the  distress  that  was  occasioned,  by  every 
temptation  that  found  in  hun  a  plane  on  which  to  operate  its  ma- 
lignity. It  is  evil  and  falsehood  which  slay  the  spiritual  life  of 
religion  in  the  souls  of  its  professors,  and  cause  them  to  have 
nothing  of  genuine  happiness,  or  heaven,  within  them.  And  the 
fear  of  this  had  now  produced  a  miserable  influence  upon  that 
branch  of  the  most  ancient  church,  called  Cain. 

The  Scriptures  speak  of  similar  states  having  come  into  exist- 
ence under  the  Jewish  dispensation ;  and  they  who  were  their  sub- 
jects, are  described  as  fearing  and  flying  from  the  sword.  Thus, 
Moses,  speaking  of  those  who  persisted  in  their  transgression,  says, 
"  Upon  them  that  are  left  alive  of  you,  I  will  send  a  faintness  into 
their  hearts  in  the  lands  of  their  enemies ;  and  the  sound  of  a 
shaken  leaf  shall  chase  them :  and  they  shall  flee,  as  fleeing  from 
a  sword ;  and  they  shall  fall,  when  none  pursueth."  (Lev.  xxvi. 
36.)  Here,  it  is  evident,  that  the  pain  of  evil,  and  the  fear  of  spir- 
itual death  thereby  occasioned,  are  the  subjects  treated  of.  So, 
again,  Jeremiah,  speaking  of  the  judgments  of  the  Ammonites, 
says,  "  Behold,  I  will  bring  a  fear  upon  thee,  saith  the  Lord  God 
of  hosts,  from  all  those  that  be  about  thee :  and  ye  shall  be  driven 
out  every  man  right  forth ;  and  none  shall  gather  him  up  that  wan- 
dereth."  (Jer.  xlix.  5.)  This  denouncement  is  nearly  parallel, 
both  in  sentiment  and  expression,  to  that  recorded  of  Cain :  he 
feared  all  those  that  were  about  him,  and  was  driven  out  from  the 
face  of  the  Lord.  The  wicked  cannot  do  otherwise  than  fear :  the 
loss  of  innocence,  with  the  consciousness  of  guilt,  afiiicts  them  with 
it.  They  can  have  but  little  hopes  of  spiritual  life  hereafter,  when 
they  reflect  that  the  doors  of  heaven  are  shut  against  iniquity. 
It  is  written,  that  "  Without,  are  dogs,  and  sorcerers,  and  whore- 
mongers, and  murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  whatsoever  loveth  and 
maketh  a  lie."  (Rev.  xxii.  15.)  This  is  a  law  which  must  re- 
main perpetual  in  the  church.  Men  may  try  to  reason  away  its 
force,  by  supposing  that  the  Divine  justice  will  be  satisfied  through 
the  sufferings  of  a  victim  substituted  for  the  sinner,  and  so  ab- 
stract from  it  its  practical  importance.  Still  they  will  have  the 
evidences  of  intuition,  that  heaven  is  only  for  the  good,  and  that 
none  are  faithful  but  those  who  are  obedient.  The  faith  that  does 
not  remove  the  mountains  of  evil  which  afflict  humanity  is  of  little 


FAITH  IS  TRUTH  LEADING  TO  GOOD.         193 

worth.*  Faith,  to  be  of  real  value,  must  have  its  ground  in  truth, 
and  thus  possess  the  power  of  making  men  good.  If  it  has  not 
these  properties,  it  has  no  pedigree  in  heaven,  because  all  that 
proceeds  from  thence  is  intended  to  make  men  wise  and  happy. 

It  is  easy  to  understand,  as  a  general  principle,  that  the  state  of 
a  people  who  had  destroyed  within  themselves  the  life  of  charity, 
must  have  been  fearful  and  distressing ;  nor  is  it  difficult  to  per- 
ceive that  their  anguish  was  much  greater  than  it  would  have  been, 
had  they  been  an  ignorant  people.  This  they  were  not.  There  are 
certain  sensibilities  which  attend  the  possession  of  knowledge  which 
are  exceedingly  acute :  they  are  blunted  and  deprived  of  much  of 
their  poignancy  by  ignorance.  Cain  was  an  enlightened  but  an 
umcharitable  people.  The  wicked  can  be  clever :  but  the  circum- 
stance of  knowing  what  is  right  and  doing  what  is  wrong,  augments 
the  severity  of  the  punishment  which  ensues :  the  sin  of  ignorance 
is  less  enormous  in  its  consequences  than  the  sin  of  knowledge; 
The  Lord  said,  "  He  that  knew  not,  and  did  commit  things  worthy 
of  stripes,  shall  be  beaten  with  few  stripes.  For  unto  whomsoever 
much  is  given,  of  him  shall  be  much  required."  (Luke  xii.  48.) 
This  latter  state  was  that  of  Cain ;  they  transgressed  the  laws  of 
good,  and  knew  it;  they  pursued  their  own  uncharitable  course 
with  open  eyes.  They  were  not  ignorant  of  their  duty  to  man,  but 
thought  that  a  certain  faith  in  God  would  be  accepted  in  its  stead. 
They  instituted  knowledge  for  virtue  ;  they  extinguished  charity, 
and  trusted  to  solitary  faith  to  gain  for  them  admission  into  heaven. 

*  Jenyn  sensibly  observes,  that,  "The  true  scriptural  meaning  of  the 
word  faith,  seems  nothing  more  than  a  docility  or  promptitude  to  receive 
truth  ;  and  the  Christian  faith,  to  believe  the  divine  authority  of  that  re- 
ligion, and  to  obey  its  precepts ;  in  this  sense  surely  too  much  merit  can 
never  be  imputed  to  it :  but  since  this  denomination  has  been  so  under- 
mined, that  no  two  ages,  nations,  or  sects,  have  affixed  to  it  the  same  ideas  ; 
and  so  absurd,  that  under  it  every  absurdity  that  knavery  could  cram 
doAvn,  or  ignorance  swallow,  has  been  comprehended ;  since  it  is  still  ca- 
pable of  being  so  explained  as  to  mean  any  thing  that  an  artful  preacher 
pleases  to  impose  on  an  illiterate  audience ;  the  laying  too  great  stress 
upon  it,  must  be  highly  dangerous  to  the  religion  and  liberties  of  man- 
kind :  but  the  proposing  it  as  a  composition  for  moral  duties,  is,  of  all 
others,  the  most  mischievous  doctrine ;  as  it  unhinges  all  our  notions  of 
divine  justice/  and  establishes  wickedness  upon  a  principle ;  and  it  is  the 
more  mischievous,  as  it  cannot  fail  of  being  popular,  because,  as  is  usually 
intended,  it  is,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than  offering  to  the  people  a  license 
to  be  profligate,  at  the  easy  price  of  being  absurd ;  a  bargain,  which  they 
will  ever  readily  agree  to."  —  Jenyn's  Works,  vol.  l,p.  219. 
17 


194  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

Hence  came  that  particular  condition,  which  the  trepidation  and 
alarm  of  Cain  was  intended  to  teach  us.  He  had  the  faith  of 
knowledge,  but  not  the  practice.  This  is  the  trait  of  character 
which,  in  all  our  consideration  of  Cain,  we  have  endeavored  to 
keep  in  sight,  as  being  that  which  was  both  possessed  and  repre- 
sented by  him. 

But  who  does  not  see,  that  the  existence  of  religious  knowledge 
is  endangered  by  the  life  of  evil  ?  The  faith  of  knowledge  in  re- 
ligious things,  is  placed  in  jeopardy  by  the  rejection  of  charity. 
By  the  faith  of  knowledge,  we  mean  a  belief  in  what  is  understood 
to  be  true :  but  if  men  destroy  in  themselves  the  practice  of  re- 
ligious good,  their  belief  in  religious  truth  is  rendered  perilous. 
The  li'uths  of  religion  live  and  acquire  their  perpetuity,  by  being 
embodied  in  acts  of  usefulness  to  society.  Truth  becomes  good 
by  use.  The  truths  of  religion  are  to  teach  men  how  to  live ;  if 
this  purpose  of  them  is  extinguished,  they  become  mere  intellectual 
things,  and,  as  such,  they  are  like  the  faith  of  Cain,  exposed  to 
death.  The  machine  rusts  when  it  is  thrown  out  of  employ  ;  to 
preserve  the  mechanism  bright  and  sweet,  it  must  be  kept  in  use. 
The  religious  knowledge  which  exists  merely  in  the  head,  will  soon 
expire  ;  and  so  the  death  of  truth  is  to  be  feared  when  the  life  of 
charity  has  been  destroyed.  And  this  is  the  particular  idea  which 
the  recorded  dread  of  Cain  is  intended  to  inform  us  of.  Charity 
having  perished,  faith  was  placed  in  great  danger.  Cain,  having 
slain  his  brother  Abel,  now  began  to  fear  a  similar  calamity.  How 
can  they  preserve  their  faith  who  have  abandoned  virtue  ?  Men 
do  not  long  remember  what  they  cease  to  practise.  Cain's  fear 
of  death  was  intended  to  shadow  forth  to  us  the  danger,  in  which 
truth  is  placed,  when  good  is  gone.  The  orderly  and  affectionate 
course  of  a  good  man,  preserves  his  faith  in  health  and  vigor :  the 
vices  and  immoralities  of  the  wicked  endanger  its  existence.  Every 
evil  to  which  they  are  tempted,  inflicts  a  new  blow,  and  threatens 
to  destroy  it :  the  reason  is,  because  they  do  not  resist  these  evils, 
but  fall  therein,  whensoever  they  are  assailed.  These  are  truths 
of  experience,  and  how  closely  do  they  resemble  the  state  indi- 
cated by  Cain's  expressions.  They  present  the  history  to  us  un- 
der a  practical  aspect.  It  comes  home  to  what  is  very  generally 
known  and  felt  to  be  the  case.  It  is  not  merely  a  fact,  Avhich  dis- 
tinguished an  ancient  sect,  but  it  is  a  revelation  of  certain  religious 
experiences  in  after-tunes.  Every  man  knows  that  the  retention 
of  his  belief  is  endangered  when  he  does  not  practise  its  instruc- 


WHY    CAIN    WAS    NOT   TO    BE    SLAIN.  195 

tions  :  we  cannot  long  believe  after  we  have  ceased  to  do :  and  the 
apostle  has  most  emphatically  informed  us  "  that  faith  without 
works  is  dead."    (James  ii.  20.) 

From  these  considerations  we  see,  with  remarkable  accuracy, 
that  the  agony  of  Cain  and  his  fear  of  death,  represented  the  dan- 
ger to  which  truth  among  that  people  was  now  exposed,  in  conse- 
quence of  not  being  reduced  to  life.  And  this  brings  us  to  an- 
other point  in  this  investigation,  which  is  thus  expressed :  "  Who- 
soever slayeth  Cain,  vengeance  shall  be  taken  on  him  seven-fold. 
And  the  Lord  set  a  mark  upon  Cain,  lest  any  finding  him  should 
kill  him."     (Gen.  iv.  15.) 

The  first  general  remark,  which  these  statements  educe,  in  con- 
nection with  what  has  been  previously  explained,  is,  that  faith, 
even  though  it  be  in  a  state  of  separation  from  charity,  is  to  be 
held  as  a  sacred  and  inviolable  principle  of  the  church.  For,  if 
Cain  really  represented  a  state  of  faith,  Avhich,  at  this  time,  had 
dissolved  its  brotherhood  with  charity,  then,  it  follows,  as  an  ir- 
resistible consequence,  that  the  strong  prohibition  of  his  death, 
was  intended  to  express  the  necessity  for  its  preservation.  The 
faith  founded  on  truth,  was  not  to  be  destroyed.  We  have  all 
along  insisted  that  the  faith  of  those  people,  was  of  this  character : 
it  was  derived  to  them  by  instruction,  from  their  immediate  prede- 
cessors, who  had  enjoyed  the  intelligence  of  Eden.  Their  faith 
was  founded  on  truth,  and  therefore,  it  was  to  be  preserved.  The 
existence  of  Cain  was  to  be  maintained.  The  knowledge  of 
spiritual  truth,  and  faith  therein,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
the  church.  It  is  a  sacred  and  holy  principle,  and,  as  such,  it 
must  be  preserved  to  men.  Woe  to  those,  by  whom  it  is  destroyed. 
The  reason  is,  because  faith  in  truth  is  a  means  to  good,  and, 
indeed,  the  proper  source  through  which  it  is  to  be  obtained. 
Before  men  can  do  good,  they  must  learn  the  laws  of  truth  which 
teach  it :  before  they  can  live  in  charity  with  all  men,  from  a  re- 
ligious principle,  they  must  have  learned  the  law  which  says, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Faith  precedes  char- 
ity, as  the  means  to  an  end.  To  erect  the  temple,  we  must  first 
lay  the  foundation :  we  must  know  the  way  to  virtue  before  we 
can  walk  in  it ;  and  this,  it  is  the  office  of  faith  to  teach.  Faith 
does  not  save,  but  it  points  out  the  way  to  that  which  does  :  it  is 
this  which  constitutes  its  value  and  importance,  and  this  is  the  end 
for  which  it  was  to  be  protected  and  preserved.  "  He  that  cometh 
to  God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them 


196  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

that  diligently  seek  Him."  (Heb.  xi.  6.)  Thus,  faith  in  the  Di- 
vine existence,  protection,  and  truth,  are  essential  ingredients  in 
the  formation  of  the  religious  character.  It  is  a  valuable  principle 
in  God's  church,  and  required  to  be  held  in  high  esteem  by  men, 
because  it  is  the  appointed  means  to  every  good ;  and  these  are 
the  reasons  why  it  is  said,  that  Cain  should  not  be  slain. 

Of  course,  it  was  possible  to  effect  this.  God  does  not  take 
away  the  liberty  of  men.  Those  who  had  destroyed  charity,  were 
not  deprived  of  the  power  to  extinguish  faith  ;  bnt,  if  they  did  so, 
vengeance  seven-fold  was  to  be  taken  on  them ;  which  plainly 
denotes,  that  a  full  and  complete  punishment  would  result.  And 
can  we  not  see  the  rationale  of  this  announcement  ?  The  punish- 
ment was  not  the  arbitrary  infliction  of  God,  but  he  has  revealed 
it  as  the  necessary  consequence  of  a  certain  extremity  of  wicked- 
ness on  the  part  of  man.  Do  we  not  perceive,  that  if  men  destroy 
the  knowledges  of  faith,  they  thereby,  entirely  separate  themselves 
from  truth,  and  consequently,  abandon  both  its  illumination  and 
guidance  ?  What  must  be  the  condition  of  such  persons  ?  Do 
they  not,  thereby,  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity  ?  The  man 
who  destroys  within  himself  the  faith  of  truth,  deprives  himself 
of  the  means  of  learning  what  is  good,  and  thus,  intelligence,  as 
well  as  virtue,  perishes.  Truth  and  good  are  human  principles, 
and  men  are  more  and  more  human,  as  they  receive  and  cherish 
them ;  but  if  they  reject  them,  they  slay  the  essential  things  of 
man,  and  thereby,  rush  into  the  characteristics  of  a  devil :  and  this 
is  what  is  meant  by  the  seven-fold  vengeance,  that  was  to  be  taken 
of  those  who  extinguished  the  truth  of  faith,  which  would  have 
been  represented  by  the  slaying  of  Cain.  The  Lord  revealed  the 
consequence,  that  men  might  eschew  the  cause.  And  here,  again, 
we  recognize  the  instructive  character  and  moral  bearing  of  this 
narrative.  We  see  that  it  is  founded  on  the  very  nature  of  moral 
delinquency,  and  perceive  the  equity  of  the  declaration,  "If  thou 
doest  well,  shalt  thou  not  be  exalted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well, 
sin  lieth  at  the  door."    (Gen.  iv.  7.) 

But  to  prevent  this  disastrous  consequence,  so  far  as  it  could  be 
done  without  hindering  the  activity  of  human  freedom,  we  are 
informed,  that,  "  the  Lord  set  a  mark  on  Cain,  lest  any  finding 
him,  should  slay  him."  Of  course,  this  mark  was  intended  to 
make  him  known ;  to  testify  who  he  was,  and  to  operate  as  a  pre- 
ventive against  any  attempt  at  his  destruction.  But  what  was  the 
nature  of  it  ?    Those  who  contemplate  the  narrative  in  a  literal 


WHAT  THE  MARK  IS  THOUGHT  TO  HAVE  BEEN.    197 

sense  merely,  consider  it  to  have  been  some  physical  distinction : 
but  that  idea,  we  conceive,  there  is  every  reasonable  ground  for 
rejecting.  Such  a  mark  could  not  have  been  necessary  for  point- 
ing him  out  to  those  of  whom  the  history  informs  us  ;  they  must 
have  known  him  without  it,  and,  if  there  had  been  no  other  per- 
sons in  the  world,  the  safest  way  for  him  to  have  avoided  their 
revenge,  would  have  been  to  have  absented  himself  from  the 
family.  But  that  opinion  of  the  narrative,  plainly  includes  the 
idea  of  there  being  other  persons  who  might  have  heard  of  his 
crime,  but  to  whom  he  was  not  known ;  also,  that  his  wandering 
or  vagabond  condition  would  bring  him  into  contact  with  them, 
and  that  they  were  to  be  warned  against  offering  violence  to  him. 
The  fact  of  a  larger  community  existing,  than  what  the  letter  of 
the  history  expresses,  must  be  conceded.  The  setting  of  the  mark 
might  have  deterred  men  from  slaying  him,  if  they  had  been  in- 
formed that  it  was  set  with  the  view  of  preventing  such  a  crime  ; 
still  it  may  be  asked,  whether  it  was  not  the  ntbst  likely  way  to 
have  called  attention  to  his  character,  and  thus,  to  have  rendered 
him  a  subject  of  general  abhorrence.  While,  therefore,  it  may  be 
said  to  have  been  the  means  for  the  preservation  of  his  life,  it 
must,  likewise,  be  said  to  have  been  the  cause  of  giving  publicity 
to  his  crime,  and  so  to  have  realized  some  of  those  digresses, 
which  he  is  considered  to  have  apprehended.  This  point  of  view 
takes  away  that  idea  of  mercy  and  forbearance,  which  the  affixing 
of  the  mark  at  first  sight  supposes  ;  and  other  difficulties  may  be 
raised  against  the  physical  sense  of  it ;  on  which  however,  we 
need  not  dwell. 

The  many  curious  conjectures  which  have  been  seriously  ex- 
pressed concerning  what  this  mark  was,  will  show  the  necessity 
for  having  recourse  to  a  different  view  of  the  subject.  Some  have 
imagined  that  he  was  rendered  paralytic ;  *  and  others  have  sup- 
posed that  God  impressed  some  letter  upon  Cain's  forehead,  taken 
either  from  the  name  of  Abel  or  Jehovah.  (The  Targum  of  Jona- 
tlian  ben  Uzziel.)  Others  say,  that  it  consisted  of  three  letters^ 
which  composed  the  name  of  the  sabbath :  and  a  few  assert  that 
it  was  the  sign  of  the  cross.  Some  have  thought  that  it  consisted 
in  a  wild  aspect,  toith  hlood-shot  eyes  rolling  in  a  horrid  manner ; 

*  This  idea  seems  founded  on  the  Septuagint  version,  Avhich  has 
rendered,  what  the  English  translation  called  a  fugitive  and  vagabond,  by 
words  which  signify,  groaning  and  trembling.  We  have  remarked  on 
this  version  of  the  original  in  a  preceding  note.     See  page  188. 

17* 


198  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

(see  Bayle's  Diet.,  Art.  Cain ;)  and  others  assert,  that  it  was  the 
Hebrew  letter  tau,  marked  on  his*  forehead,  and  that  it  was  to 
signify  his  contrition,  because  it  is  the  first  letter  in  the  Hebrew 
word  teshubah,  which  denotes  repentance.  There  are  those  who 
have  thought  that  it  was  AbeVs  sheep  dog,  given  to  him  for  a  trav- 
elling companion  ;  (Abravenel ;)  and  others  have  maintained  that 
it  was  a  horn,  which  grew  out  of  his  forehead.  (Rabbi  Joseph.) 
It  has  been  said,  that  the  mark  was  a  circle  of  the  sun  rising  upon 
him ;  (the  author  of  Bereshith  Rabba,  a  comment 'on  Gen. ;)  and, 
also,  that  it  meant  that  "  a  sword  could  not  pierce  him  ;  fire  could 
not  burn  him ;  water  could  not  drown  him  ;  the  air  could  not  blast 
him ;  nor  could  thunder  or  lightning  strike  him."* 

It  is  useless  to  increase  these  "  curiosities  of  literature  "  on  the 
subject,  or  to  offer  any  comment.  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  not  one 
of  these  speculations  has  fastened  itself  upon  the  credibility  of  the 
church :  nor  will  any  other,  which  is  founded  on  the  idea  of  physi- 
cal distinction,  be  more  successful.  For  a  more  prosperous  issue 
in  this  inquiry,  other  ground  must  be  taken. 

The  Hebrew  word  oth,  which,  in  our  version,  is  translated  a 
mark,  also  signifies  a  sign,  or  token.  The  bow  was  to  be  leoth,for 
a  sign,  or  token,  between  the  Lord  and  the  earth :  (Gen.  ix.  13 :) 
and,  therefore,  the  original,  rendered  "  And  the  Lord  set  a  mark 
upon  Cain,"  might  have  been  translated,  And  the  Lord  appointed 
to  Cain  a  token,  or  a  sign,  by  which  he  was  to  know  that  a  special 
providence  protected  his  life.  Although  this  version  may  not  be 
free  from  every  objection,  yet  it  sets  the  inquirer  upon  the  right 
path :  it  contemplates  the  mark  to  have  been  of  a  mental  or  moral 
kind ;  and,  if  we  view  the  subject  from  this  aspect,  we  shall  be 
able  to  see  both  its  utility  and  its  nature. 

The  setting  a  mark  upon  Cain,  is  not  the  only  instance  of  such 
a  circumstance  being  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures.     The  prophet 

*  The  Author  of  an  Arabic  Catena,  in  the  Bodleian  library,  cited  by 
Dr.  A.  Clarke.  See,  also,  Dr.  Shuckford,  on  the  general  subject  of  Cain's 
mark.  Dr.  Thos.  Brown's  "  Vulgar  Errors,"  may  also  be  consulted. 
Matthew  Poole  remarks,  "what  this  visible  token  of  the'Divine  displeas- 
ure was,  God  hath  not  revealed  to  us,  nor  doth  it  concern  us  to  know.*' 
Here,  the  mark  is  called,  a  mark  of  "  Divine  displeasure,"  whereas  the 
whole  history  of  the  circumstance,  shows  it  to  have  been  the  means  of 
protection,  and  so  of  blessing  !  The  writer  says,  it  does  not  concern  us 
to  know  what  it  was  !  we  do  not  believe  there  is  any  thing  mentioned  in 
God's  Word,  which  it  does  not  very  deeply  concern  us  to  know  the  mean- 
ing of,  and  which  it  is  not  our  duty  to  endeavor  to  learn. 


THE  MAKK  ON  CAIN  ILLUSTEATED.         199 

was  commanded  to  "  Go  through  the  midst  of  the  city,  through 
the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  and  set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads  of  the 
men,  that  sigh  and  cry  for  all  the  abominations  that  be  done  in  the 
midst  thereof."  (Ezekiel  ix.  4.)  Here,  the  marking  is  not  men- 
tioned to  express  the  idea  of  fixing  upon  them  any  physical  im- 
pression, but  rather,  a  notice  of  the  sorrowful  condition  of  those, 
who  saAV  and  lamented  the  wickedness  of  the  people :  the  mark, 
therefore,  by  which  they  were  distinguished,  consisted  in  some 
internal  love  for  propriety  and  goodness.  This  mark  is  said  to 
have  been  in  the  forehead,  because  that,  as  the  supreme  part  of 
the  face,  in  which  the  affections  are  reflected,  corresponds  to  love. 
This  was  the  mark  for  which  the  apostle  pressed  forward  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  (Phil.  iii.  14.) 
In  the  Revelation,  we  read,  that  the  locusts  should  hurt  "  only 
those  men,  who  have  not  the  seal  (mark)  of  God  in  their  fore- 
heads." (Rev.  ix.  4.)  Every  one,  who  is  so  disposed,  may  see, 
that  the  mark  of  God  is  the  impress  of  some  spiritual  excellence, 
distinguishing  the  characters  of  those  of  whom  it  is  predicated. 
The  mark  of  the  good  is  the  brightness  of  their  virtues  :  the  mark 
of  the  intelligent  is  the  strength  of  their  knowledge :  and  these 
marks  are  the  gifls  of  God.  And  here  it  is  of  importance  to 
observe,  that  the  mark  set  upon  Cain,  was  the  mark  of  God.  It  is 
distinctly  written,  that  the  Lord  set  a  mark  upon  him.  It  was  a 
mark,  not  to  indicate  a  curse,  but  to  distinguish  for  preservation. 
It  is  not  said  to  have  been  affixed  to  any  particular  part  of  his 
person,  because  it  was  intended  to  characterize  all  the  faith  of 
which  he  was  the  representative.  Those  who  destroy  charity, 
mark  themselves  ;  those  who  cherish  the  knowledges  of  truth, 
retain,  thereby,  the  mark  of  God.  The  mark  of  those  who  destroy 
charity,  is,  in  the  Revelation,  described  as  the  mark  of  the  beast. 
(Rev.  xvi.  2.)  When  false  principles  of  religion  are  imbibed,  they 
impress  upon  man's  character  the  moral  scars  and  evidences  of  his 
defection.  The  mark  which  Cain  set  upon  himself,  was  indicated 
in  the  falling  of  his  countenance,  and  in  the  kindling  of  his  anger : 
it  consisted  in  the  impure  state  of  his  affections,  arising  from  his 
having  rejected  the  influences  of  good.  The  external  mark  of 
wicked  men  is  a  disorderly  life.  The  internal  mark  is  impurity  of 
love.  Outward  vice  is  a  sign  of  the  decay  of  inward  virtue.  The 
conduct  of  men  is  a  mark  by  which  we  distinguish  one  class  from 
another.  It  is  by  this  that  we  discriminate  between  the  good  and . 
the  bad.     The  Lord  has  told  us,  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 


200  ANTEDILUVIAN  HISTORY. 

them."  Thus,  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  mark 
which  Cain  may  have  set  upon  himself,  in  consequence  of  the 
death  which  he  had  inflicted  upon  charity.  But  the  mark  which 
was  set  upon  him  by  God,  was  of  another  kind.  This  had  refer- 
ence to  that  characteristic  of  faith,  of  which  we  have  seen  he  was  the 
type.  He,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  the  people  under  that  name, 
knew  the  truths  of  religion,  although  they  had  discarded  its  virtues. 
This  knowledge  was  of  great  value  and  importance,  and  therefore, 
it  was  to  be  regarded  and  preserved.  It  was  the  ground  and  pillar 
of  faith :  on  this  account,  it  was  to  be  esteemed  as  a  sacred  thing ; 
the  monitor  of  virtue  ;  the  directing  staff  to  heaven.  It  is  essen- 
tial to  the  right  development  of  every  other  principle  of  the  church. 
It  is  the  lever,  which,  when  put  in  motion,  is  to  lift  men  up  to  the 
land  of  blessedness.  The  knowledges  of  truth,  constituted  the 
faith  which  was  represented  and  maintained  by  the  people  called 
Cain ;  and  although  its  existence  was  endangered  by  the  destruc- 
tion of  charity,  yet  it  was  to  be  respected  and  preserved,  because 
it  was  to  be  a  means  whereby  the  gifts  of  God  might  be  commu- 
nicated. That  people  knew  what  they  believed  was  a  reality. 
They  saw  the  evidence,  and  beheld  that  it  was  true.  Their  faith 
did  not  consist  in  believing  certain  propositions,  because  some 
persons  in  authority  had  taught  them,  or  because  they  had  become 
mere  dogmata  in  the  church ;  but  they  believed  the  propositions 
of  religious  truth,  because  they  fell  within  the  grasp  of  their  under- 
standings. They  comprehended  what  they  believed,  either  on  the 
testimony  of  facts,  or  by  the  light  of  perception.  Their  faith  was 
founded  on  truth,  clearly  and  definitely  seen  tp  be  so,  and  this  is 
the  mark  by  which  God  has  mercifully  distinguished  it.  The 
internal  consciousness,  and  intellectual  certainty,  that  the  subjects 
of  faith  are  true,  constitute  the  mark  by  which  faith  was  to  be 
known  in  after-ages.  It  is  given  by  God,  that  men  may  know  it, 
and  that,  by  knowing  it,  they  may  be  led  to  respect  it,  and  so  be 
preserved  from  the  danger  which  must  follow  its  destruction. 
Men  were  to  know  that  their  faith  was  truth,  through  an  under- 
standing of  its  subjects.  This  was  to  be  the  mark  for  distinguish- 
ing between  truth  and  error  ;  and  if  we  do  not  recognize  it  in  our 
belief  about  spiritual  things,  then  we  want  the  evidence  by  which 
it  has  been  marked  by  God  himself.  He  wishes  men  to  under- 
stand what  they  believe  :  He  desires  that  their  knowledge  should 
be  correct ;  and  hence.  He  has  caused  it  to  be  written,  that,  "  they 
who  worship  Him,  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
(John  iv.  24.) 


THE    WORD    GIVEN    TO    BE    UNDERSTOOD.  201 

The  religious  things,  which  were  known  to  Cain,  were  the 
results  of  an  internal  perception  peculiar  to  the  most  ancient 
church,  answering  the  same  use  with  them  as  the  revelation, 
which  has  been  subsequently  vouchsafed,  does  with  us :  and 
those  knowledges  were  retained  though  their  virtues  had  been 
neglected. 

In  order  that  man  may  now  know  what  divine  truth  is  upon 
religious  subjects,  the  Lord  has  mercifully  provided  him  his  holy 
Word,  and  endowed  man  with  the  ability  for  comprehending  it. 
The  Word  and  the  human  understanding  are  both  God's  good 
gifts,  and,  therefore,  they  cannot  be  designed  to  repel  each  other : 
if  in  any  case,  they  are  found  to  do  so,  we  may  rest  assured,  either 
that  the  understanding  has  been  corrupted,  or  that  the  meaning  of 
the  Word  has  been  perverted.  The  Word  is  given,  for  man, 
rationally  and  intellectually,  to  understand  its  teachings  :  the  faitli 
which  is  thus  perceived  is  the  faith  of  truth,  and  this  is  the  char- 
acteristic which  God  has  set  upon  it,  and  which  he  is  wishful  to 
preserve :  and  every  one  may  see,  that  to  destroy  it  with  such  a 
mark  of  its  origin,  utility,  and  importance,  must  needs  be  followed 
by  that  calamity,  which  is  described  as  seven-fold  vengeance. 

These  considerations  lead  us  into  a  more  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  nature  of  faith,  as  a  means  to  good :  they  show  us  that 
the  constitution  of  faith  is  truth,  marked  and  characterized  as  such 
by  God  himself.  If  we  see  this  mark  upon  any  religious  doctrine, 
which  is  propounded  for  the  acceptance  of  mankind,  we  should  be 
careful  that  we  do  not  slay  it.  To  do  so,  is  to  peril  the  safety  and 
satisfaction  of  our  intellect.  Whensoever  God  permits  us  to  see 
a  religious  truth,  he  designs  that  we  should  revere  and  cherish  it. 
Such  a  sight  is  an  act  of  his  particular  providence,  intended  for 
our  especial  good.  Let  us,  then,  endeavor  to  bring  this  subject 
home  to  our  business  and  our  bosoms.  Does  the  reader  see  that 
these  interpretations  of  the  Word  bear  upon  them  the  impress  of 
truth  ?  Do  these  views  of  the  narrative  aifect  him  as  being  rea- 
sonable in  themselves,  in  agreement  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Word,  the  purposes  of  God,  and  the  means  to  virtue  ?  If  so,  it 
is  the  mark  intended  to  distinguish  them  for  his  respect  and  pres- 
ervation. This  is  the  only  mark  of  faith  which  can  be  given,  and 
what  other  would  a  rational  man  desire  ?  To  extinguish  it  after 
the  recognition  of  the  evidence  of  its  existence,  is  to  destroy  the 
dictate  of  man's  rational  nature,  and  evince  the  most  criminal 
indifference  concerning  the  particular  providences  of  God  ! 


202  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE     LAND    OF    NOD  —  CAIN 'S     SON  —  THE    BUILDING  OF  A  CITY    AND 
CALLING  IT  AFTER  THE  NAME   OF  HIS   SON,   ENOCH. 

"  The  Hebrew  narrative  is  more  than  human  in  its  origin,  and  conse- 
quently, true  in  every  substantial  part  of  it,  though  possibly  expressed 
in  figurative  language  ;  as  many  learned  and  pious  men  have  believed, 
and  as  the  most  pious  may  believe  without  injury,  and,  perhaps  with 
advantage,  to  the  cause  of  revealed  religion."  —  Sir  W.  Jones'  Woj-ks, 
p.  137. 

Moses  concludes  his  account  of  Cain  in  these  words,  —  "  And 
Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  dwelt  in  the  land 
of  Nod,  on  the  east  of  Eden.  And  Cain  knew  his  wife,  and  she 
conceived  and  bare  Enoch :  and  he  builded  a  city  and  called  the 
name  of  the  city,  after  the  name  of  his  son,  Enoch."  (Gen.  iv. 
16,  17.)  The  circumstances  mentioned  in  those  statements,  have 
not  engaged  so  much  critical  attention,  els  some  other  parts  of  the 
Antediluvian  history  which  have  been  considered.  They  are, 
however,  not  the  less  interesting  on  that  account.  We  shall  find 
that  they  describe  important  events,  in  the  moral  history  of  a  de- 
clining church.  The  histories  in  the  Bible,  are  the  special  his- 
tories of  the  human  mind,  written  under  the  superintendence  of  a 
particular  providence,  and  designed  to  reveal  some  of  its  most 
remarkable  activities  and  developments.  Though  they  appear  to 
have  respect  to  particular  times,  and  to  relate,  for  the  most  part,  to 
a  privileged  people,  yet  in  reality,  they  belong  to  all  periods,  and 
are  adapted  for  the  instruction  of  all  men.  There  is  nothing  obso- 
lete in  the  Bible.  Its  truths  are  always  fresh  and  powerful.  Its 
histories,  the  rites  and  ceremonies  which  it  commands,  together 
with  the  idolatries  and  transgressions  which  it  denounces,  are  such 
as  may  be  realized  over  and  over  again,  in  the  states  of  the  affec- 
tions and  thoughts  of  men.  This  is  the  reason  Avhy  the  Lord 
has  said  that  His  "  words  are  spirit  and  life  : "  they  relate  to  the 
inner  sensations  and  living  principles  of  men :  it  is  these  which 
contributed  to  the  outer  histories  of  the  Word.  The  visible  as- 
pect of  society,  or  of  a  nation,  is  derived  from  the  inner  principles, 
opinions,  and  feelings  of  the  people :  and  men  who  write  these 
histories,  describe  chiefly,  their  visible  events  and  consequences : 
but  God,  who  has  superintended  the  production  of  the  written 
histories  of  his  Word,  has  caused  them  to  be  so  constructed,  that 
they  might  also  represent  the  spiritual  motives,  in  which  such 


DEPARTtJRE    FROM   GOd's   PRESENCE.  203 

effects  originate.  The  histories  of  men  regard  outer  things  :  the 
histories  of  God  refer  to  inner  things,  and  to  those  which  are 
without,  only  as  the  means  for  representing  them:  the  former 
relates,  mostly,  to  the  natural,  the  latter,  principally,  to  the  mental 
world. 

The  good  which  may  be  implanted  in  human  nature,  will  ever 
present  the  same  general  phase  to  the  world,  allowing  only  for 
that  peculiar  distinctiveness  which  it  must  acquire,  by  coming  into 
contact  with  our  idiosyncrasies.  The  evil  which  men  may  cherish, 
will  always  exhibit  the  like  distorted  features  to  society,  more  or 
less  modified  in  their  enormity,  by  the  personal  fears  or  darings  of 
the  individual.  Men  of  love,  are  amiable  and  benevolent :  men 
of  hate,  are  severe  and  wicked.  The  Bible  is  designed  to  en- 
courage the  former,  to  warn  the  latter,  and  thus  to  treat  of  both 
conditions,  under  their  respective  varieties.  Observe,  it  treats  of 
them,  not  so  much  in  respect  to  their  outward  position,  as  to  their 
inward  condition.  The  Word  always  has  been,  and  always  will 
be,  a  powerful  exhibition  of  the  state  of  the  church  with  men, 
under  all  possible  circumstances.  It  is  thus  a  revelation,  inform- 
ing us  of  the  extent  of  the  Divine  presence  and  its  blessings, 
together  with  the  nature  of  the  apparent  Divine  absence  and  its 
consequences.  The  exposition  of  the  subjects  which  belong  to 
this  chapter,  will,  in  some  measure,  serve  as  additional  confirma- 
tions of  these  views  of  the  holy  Word.  We  do  not,  however,  re- 
gard this  Mosaic  description  in  the  light  of  merely  external  his- 
tory ;  we  receive  it  only  as  a  portion  of  that  grand  allegory,  under 
'which  the  Antediluvian  period  is  represented. 

Every  one  must  see,  that  the  description  of  Cain's  going  out 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  is  purely  figurative ;  no  one  can  be 
separated  from  the  Omniscient  in  any  real  sense :  for  the  Psalmist 
has  said,  "  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I 
flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  I  ascend  into  heaven,  thou  art  there ; 
if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold  thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the 
wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea, 
even  there,  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold 
me.  —  Yea,  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee ;  but  the  night  shineth 
as  the  day :  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee.^^ 
(Psalm  cxxxix.  7-12.)  It  has  been  considered,  from  the  above 
statement  concerning  Cain,  that  the  Lord  had  a  special  presence 
with  Adam  and  his  immediate  posterity,  somewhat  resembling 


204  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

what  the  Rabbins  have  expressed  by  the  term  Shekinah.*  The 
circumstance  of  Adam  and  his  wife  having,  directly  after  their  fall, 
"  hid  themselves  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  amongst  the  trees 
of  the  garden,"  (Gen.  iii.  8,)  is  thought  to  be  the  expression  of 
that  idea.  This,  however,  cannot  be  well  supported.  The  church, 
indeed,  is  the  special  dwelling  place  of  the  Almighty,  that  is  to 
say,  it  is  there,  where  his  presence  is  more  distinctly  recognized : 
hence,  he  may  be  said  to  have  had  such  a  presence  with  Adam,  as 
has  not  been  experienced  by  any  other  people.  In  this  sense,  he 
has,  also,  had  a  presence  with  the*  Jews,  unlike  that  which  existed 
with  the  Gentiles  :  and  likewise  with  Christians,  different  from  that 
which  has  prevailed  with  those  who  are  not  so.  Under  this  aspect, 
we  at  once  see,  that  to  go  out  from  the  Divine  presence,  must 
denote  the  cessation,  in  man,  of  those  sentiments,  by  which  the 
Lord  can  be  alone  perceived  :  and  this  furnishes  us  with  a  rational 
interpretation  of  Cain's  going  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

It  is,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  the  original  does  not  really 
speak  of  the  presence,  but  of  the /ace  of  the  Lord  :  it  was  from  the 
face  of  the  Lord  that  he  went  out ;  and  consequently,  it  was  the 
fulfilment  of  his  own  declaration  unto  the  Lord,  "  from  thy  face 
shall  I  be  hid."  (Gen.  iv.  14.)  The  Scriptures  do  frequently 
speak  of  the  Lord's  presence,  and  also,  of  His  face ;  but  each 
term  is  intended  to  set  forth  its  own  idea.  The  Lord's  presence  is 
perceived  by  means  of  truth,  but  His /ace  is  known  only  by  means 
o^  love.  Now  Cain  yet  retained  many  knowledges  of  the  divine 
truth ;  and  consequently,  he  could  not  yet  have  actually  departed 
from  the  Lord's  presence,  but  he  had  relinquished  the  sentiments 
of  divine  love,  and  therefore,  he  really  did  go  out  from  the  divine 
face. 

The  face  of  man  indicates  every  emotion  of  the  human  heart : 
he  may  prevent  his  thoughts  from  appearing  in  his  conversation ; 
but  the  most  consummate  dissimulation  cannot  prevent  his  face, 
from  disclosing  any  real  and  earnest  affection  he  may  possess. 
Offend  modesty,  and  it  will  blush :  accuse  the  guilty,  and  they 
become  pale.  Thus,  love  and  anger,  fear  and  hatred,  joy  and 
sadness  ;  and,  in  short,  every  passion  which  may  seize  the  heart, 
will  be  seen  to  impress  itself,  with  more  or  less  distinctness,  upon 

*  By  the  Shekinah,  is  understood  the  visible  symbol  of  the  Divine 
presence,  which  rested  over  the  propitiatory,  iti  the  shape  of  a  cloud, 
and  from  which  God  gave  forth  his  oracles  when  consulted  by  the  high 
Priest. 


WHAT    THE    DIVINE    PRESENCE    AND    FACE    ARE.         205 

the  face.  Hence,  the  face  of  the  Lord  is  mentioned,  to  represent 
His  love ;  that  is,  His  essential  and  never-varying  character. 
"  God  is  love."  They  who  are  in  faith,  observe  His  presence  ; 
but  they  who  are  in  love,  perceive  his  face.  They  who  give  up 
that  love,  as  we  have  seen  was  the  case  with  Cain,  necessarily 
depart  from  that  face,  and,  in  consequence  of  this,  they  dwelt  in 
the  land  of  Nod,  on  the  east  of  Eden. 

What,  then,  is  the  land  of  Nod  ?  Was  it  a  geographical  local- 
ity ?  We  think  not.  The  Septuagint,  and  Josephus,  call  it  jYaid, 
and  they  seem  to  have  regarded  it  as  a  place.  But,  where  was 
Naid  ?  An  altered  reading  of  the  Hebrew  term  offers  no  explana- 
tion ;  nor  does  any  one  know  any  thing  more  about  the  one  than 
the  other.  Regarded  as  a  place,  it  could  not  have  received  the 
name,  JVod,  until  after  Cain  had  entered  it ;  because,  by  that  term, 
is  meant,  a  vagabond  :  it  is  the  untranslated  Hebrew  word  for  tliat 
idea ;  and  we  can  hardly  conceive,  that  society  had,  as  yet,  set 
apart  any  particular  land  for  the  especial  residence  of  its  vaga- 
bonds. There  are  no  grounds  for  supposing,  that  wickedness 
and  jurisprudence  had  then  been  raised  to  such  a  height,  as  to 
require  a  land  for  the  transportation  of  criminals.  Surely,  there 
was  no  penal  settlement,  in  those  early  times,  at  all  answering  to 
the  "  Hulks  "  or  "  Botany  Bay  "  of  modern  history.  Why,  then, 
is  it  said,  that  there  was  a  land  whose  name  was  significant  of 
this  idea  ?  St.  Jerome,  and  the  Chaldee  interpreters,  are  said  *  to 
have  taken  a  view  of  this  subject,  by  which  this  inquiry  is,  in  some 
measure,  met.  They  thought,  that  Nod  ought  to  be  understood 
only  as  the  appellation  of  Cain ;  and  that  his  being  said  to  dwell 
in  the  land  of  Nod,  merely  meant,  that  he  dwelt  in  the  land,  a 
vagabond.  This,  indeed,  removes  part  of  the  difficulty  contem- 
plated ;  nor,  do  we  see  that  it  is  any  essential  departure  from  the 
Hebrew  text :  but  still,  it  explains  no  more  of  the  circumstances, 
in  which  Cain  stood  after  he  went  out  from  the  face  of  the  Lord, 
than  what  is  included  in  the  fact  of  his  having  been  declared  a 
vagabond,  before  that  departure  took  place :  and  surely,  something 
more  was  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  the  statement. 

But  it  is  useless  criticism,  to  endeavor  to  attach  a  geographical 
idea  to  a  name  that  is,  plainly,  the  appellation  of  a  state,  which  had 
overtaken  the  faith  of  a  degenerate  people.  Cain,  having  become 
vagabond,  in  respect  to  the  sentiments  of  faith,  are  said  to  have 
dwelt  m  the  land  of  Nod,  in  order  to  describe  that  they  had  lost  all 

*  Rev.  J.  Wood's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Art.  Nod. 
18 


206  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

settled  convictions  about  what  is  good  and  true,  and  that  they  were 
living  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  concerning  them.  They  who  fall 
into  doubts  about  the  truths  of  faith,  are  obviously  in  a  wandering 
condition  respecting  them ;  and  so  long  as  they  are  in  such  a  state, 
they  dwell  in  that,  which  the  land  of  Nod  was  intended  to  express. 
When  good  goes  out  from  the  mind,  doubt  enters  irito  it;  and 
therefore,  the  things  of  faith  come  to  be  regarded  as  objects  of 
speculation  merely :  and  however  true  those  things  may  have  been, 
in  their  beginnings,  they  are  soon  unsettled  by  the  evils  of  life, 
which  the  rejection  of  charity,  and  U  turning  away  from  the  divine 
face,  admit.  Men  cannot  long  retain  a  belief  in  truth,  after  they 
have  extinguished  the  love  of  goodness.  Their  notions  about 
religion  and  spiritual  things,  are  continually  wandering.  The 
faith  of  the  disobedient  is,  necessarily,  changing.  Transgression 
is  sure  to  produce  doubt.  Evil  doers  are  driven  about  by  every 
wind  of  doctrine ;  and  whensoever  they  fall  into  disgrace  and 
danger,  will  embrace  any  ideas  which  may  promise  them  relief 
from  suffering,  or  protection  from  calamity.  They  will  be  found 
more  attentive  to  the  promises  of  security,  than  to  the  means  of 
attaining  it.  Their  minds  are  occupied  about  relief  and  deliver- 
ance, as  an  end,  rather  than  about  the  necessary  means  by  which 
they  are  to  come.  This  fact  has  thousands  of  proofs,  both  in  the 
lives  and  deaths  of  the  wicked.  The  sinking  man  grasps  at 
straws  ;  but  they  do  not  save  him.  So,  the  faith,  which  has  extin- 
guished charity,  is  a  weak  unsteady  thing :  it  leaves  the  heart  open 
to  the  sallies  of  every  lust ;  and  hence,  the  bonds  of  truth  are 
broken:  whereupon,  men  pass  from  the  face  of  the  Lord,  and 
dwell  in  the  land  of  Nod,  —  that  is,  they  live  in  a  state  of  mind, 
in  which  all  good  things  are  vagabond  and  fugitive. 

In  this  light,  the  statements  come  home  to  our  experience.  In 
disclosing  the  moral  condition  of  Cain,  they  are  also  a  revelation 
and  a  warning  to  all  men.  They  show  us  consequences  which 
must  result  to  our  faith,  whensoever  we  disregard  the  life  of  charity 
and  avert  ourselves  from  the  face  of  God.  Nod  has  not  a  place 
in  this  world's  geography,  and  hence  men,  have  never  found  it 
there,  but  it  is  a  state  in  the  mind's  degeneracy,  which  multitudes 
have  discovered  :  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  toivards  the  east  of 
Eden,  to  signify,  that  the  state  now  treated  of  had  respect  to  the 
understanding.  The  east  is  the  Lord,,  and  Eden  is  love.  (See 
page  75.)  Consequently,  the  east  of  Eden  is  the  Lord,  regarded 
as  the  supreme  object  of  love.     But  this  love  was  departed  from 


WOMAN    A    TYPE    OF    AFFECTION.  207 

Cain,  and  another  sentiment  had  usurped  its  place.  Still  it  was 
provided  that  the  understanding,  wherein  the  principles  of  faith 
resided,  should,  notwithstanding  their  fugitive  condition,  be  pre- 
served in  the  capacity  for  knowing  truth  and  goodness,  and  so  be 
toward  the  east  of  Eden.  The  understanding,  amidst  all  its  em- 
barrassments, has  had  preserved  to  it  this  capacity ;  and  although 
it  may  be  driven  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,  this  capacity 
will  keep  it  in  that  direction.  How  many  persons  have  lived  for 
a  considerable  period,  in  states  of  fluctuation  and  uncertainty 
about  the  things  of  spiritual  truth,  and  so,  in  the  land  of  Nod  ? 
and  how  many  have  had  their  faith  rescued  from  that  condition 
and  been  made  regenerate  ?  thus  proving  its  position  to  have  been 
towards  the  east  of  Eden.  How  satisfactory  then  does  experience 
illustrate  the  statement ! 

And  now  it  is,  that  we  are  first  informed  of  the  wife  of  Cain. 
Before  this,  there  is  no  mention  of  any  other  woman  being  in  the 
world  but  Eve ;  although  it  is  plain,  from  the  series  of  things  con- 
templated, that  others  must  have  existed.  The  reason,  however, 
why  they  are  not  noticed,  is,  because  they  were  not  required  for 
the  representative  purpose  of  the  narration.  Nor  is  Cain's  wife 
now  mentioned  with  the  view  of  recording  the  existence  of  a 
woman,  but  to  signify  that  the  people  called  Cain  were  distin- 
guished by  an  affection  in  correspondence  with  the  state  of  their 
faith,  and  he  is  said  to  have  known  her,  to  express  the  conjunction 
and  confirmations  which  now  took  place  between  the  fallacies  of 
the  understanding,  and  the  affections  of  the  will.  The  faith  of 
the  understanding  is  as  a  man,  and  the  corresponding  affection  of 
the  will  is  as  his  wife.  Cain,  now  rendered  conspicuous  his  aflTec- 
tion  for  the  heresy  into  which  he  had  fallen,  and  this  is  called  his 
wife.  That  term  is  well  known  to  express  one  of  the  tenderest 
attachments  of  humanity,  and,  as  such,  it  is  sometimes  employed 
in  the  Scriptures  to  denote,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  the  affections  of 
those  of  whom  it  is  predicated.  Affection  is  the  very  nature  of 
woman,  and  therefore,  it  is  easy  to  see  the  propriety  of  selecting 
her  to  be  its  living  symbol.  It  is  on  this  account,  that  the  Scrip- 
tures invariably  represent  the  church  by  a  woman ;  the  true  church, 
under  those  terms  which  express  her  most  amiable  condition,  such 
as  a  virgin,  a  bride,  a  wife,  and  mother ;  but  the  false  churchy 
under  those  names  which  deivDte  the  abandoned  portion  of  the  sex, 
such  as  an  adulteress,  and  a  harlot.  The  people  of  the  true  church 
liave  an  affection  for  God  and  their  neighbor :  the  people  of  the 


208  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

perverted  church  have  an  affection  for  themselves  and  the  world, 
so  that  their  affections  are  conjoined  to  their  opinions :  they  are 
united,  as  it  were,  in  the  bonds  of  a  spiritual  marriage  ;  and  hence 
has  originated  the  popular  remark,  that  certain  persons,  who  are 
strongly  attached  to  their  opinions,  are  wedded  to  them.  Such 
had  now  become  the  case  with  the  people  called  Cain.  The  false 
persuasions  into  which  they  had  fallen,  had  united  themselves  to  a 
corresponding  affection,  and  the  result  was,  the  conception  and 
birth  of  a  new  heresy,  called  Enoch.* 

Cain,  as  it  has  been  seen,  were  a  people  with  whom  arose  the 
first  heresy  in  the  Adamic  church ;  and  they,  in  process  of  time, 
having  added  to  their  number,  separated  from  their  original  parents, 
and  constituted  a  sect.  They,  also,  in  their  turn,  became  the 
parents  of  other  schisms,  of  which  Enoch  was  the  first.  Heresies 
are  communicated  from  mind  to  mind ;  and,  at  last  they  are  found 
to  acquire  some  definite  form,  through  the  open  espousal  of  them 
by  the  people.  Wheresoever  one  exists,  it  is  sure,  in  the  process 
of  time,  to  beget  another  ;  and  these  are  spoken  of  in  the  antedi- 
luvian history,  under  the  form  of  a  genealogy  of  sons  and  daugh- 
ters ;  of  sons,  in  reference  to  the  birth  of  persuasions  and  opinions ; 
and  of  daughters,  in  respect  to  the  manifestation  of  affections  and 
delights. 

Heresies  are  productive  things.  Like  weeds,  they  grow  apace. 
No  ordinary  vigilance  can  hinder  their  propagation.  The  reason 
is,  because  falsehood  is  congenial  to  a  corrupted  heart.  He  who 
tells  a  falsehood,  will  give  utterance  to  many  more,  to  maintain 
consistency  for  the  first,  and  each  assertion  will  require  a  similar 
process  :  how  prolific  is  a  lie  !  It  is  upon  these  general  grounds, 
that  we  find  the  birth  of  Enoch  is  described  to  have  been  suc- 
ceeded by  other  births  descending  from  him.  Thus,  "  Unto  Enoch 
was  born  Irad :  and  Irad  begat  Mehujael :  and  Mehujael  begat 
Methusael :  and  Methusael  begat  Lamech  :  "  &c.  (Gen.  iv.  18.) 
There  is  no  consistency  in  error.  It  has  none  of  the  elements  of 
unity ;  it  has  no  steadiness  of  purpose ;  it  is  a  vagabond  principle 
aiming  at  division ;  and  whensoever  it  once  obtains  admission  into 
the  church,'  it  will  be  found  to  spread  itself  in  various  forms,  and 

*  The  Rev.  J.  Hewlett  says,  "that  there  were  an  ancient  people,  called 
by  Pliny,  Heniochii ;  by  Mela,  Eniochi ;  and  by  Lucan,  Enochii ;  some 
of  whom  lived  so  far  eastward,  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  fancies  they 
might  have  been  the  posterity  of  this  people  ! ! "  How  were  they  saved 
from  the  flood  ? 


FAITH    DESTROYED    BY    I.AMECH.  20^ 

separate  the  people  into  different  communities.  The  several 
names  which  immediately  follow  those  of  Enoch,  and  who  are  all 
stated  to  have  descended  from  Cain,  were  intended  to  express  the 
several  heresies,  by  which  the  church  at  that  time  was  torn  and 
broken  up,  until  at  last  faith  perished  at  the  hands  of  Lamech,  as 
charity  had  previously  done  by  the  hands  of  Cain.  By  the  name 
Lamech,  is  denoted,  what  is  poor  and  stricken ;  and  considered  as 
the  designation  of  a  heretical  sect,  it  signifies  what  is  low  and 
base  ;  consequently,  a  condition  of  the  church  in  which  vastation  * 
was  experienced :  hence  he  is  represented  to  have  said,  "  i  have 
slain  a  man  to  my  wounding,  and  a  young  man  to  my  hurt.  If 
Cain  shall  be  avenged  seven-fold,  truly  Lamech  seventy  and  seven- 
fold." f     Every  one,  who  is  so  disposed,  may  perceive  the  similarity 

*  A  church  vastated,  is  such,  that  ft  knoweth  what  is  true,  but  is  not 
disposed  either  to  understand  or  love  it. 

t  Gen.  iv.  23,  24.  The  literal  sense  of  this  speech  of  Lamech,  intro- 
duced as  it  is,  with  so  much  abruptnesss,  has  always  been  considered  a 
very  difficult  point  in  this  history ;  most  commentators  think  that  it  is 
vain  to  conjecture  what  was  the  particular  occasion  which  gave  rise  to  it. 
Considerable  ingenuity,  and  some  straining  of  the  original  text,  have 
been  resorted  to,  in  order  to  make  it  indicate  some  intelligible  story. 
Thus,  Hobigant,  whose  view  is  countenanced  by  Dr.  Lowth,  translates 
the  first  part  of  the  verse,  "  I  being  wounded  have  slain  a  man ;  "  and  so 
considers  the  speech  to  be  an  apology  for  committing  homicide  in  his  own 
defence.  The  words  Le-petzatigi  and  Le-chaburathi,  to  my  wound,  and 
to  my  hurt,  are  paraphrased  to  mean,  because  of  the  wound,  and  because 
of  the  hurt  which  I  received.  Our  version,  in  the  second  part  of  the 
verse, ^speaks  of  his  having  slain  a  young  man,  but,  the  original  of  that, 
denotes  a  little  child.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  such  a  one  could  inflict, 
or  threaten  an  injury,  which  demanded  a  homicide  to  punish  or  prevent. 
This,  with  other  criticisms,  which  could  be  produced,  have  hindered  the 
generality  of  scholars  from  adopting  the  above  view  of  the  subject.  Dr. 
Shuckford  resists  it  with  an  opposite  opinion.  He  thought  that  the 
family  of  Cain  were  fearful  lest  other  branches  of  the  descendants  of 
Adam,  should  avenge  on  them  the  murder  committed  by  their  ancestor. 
He  conceived  Adah  and  Zillah  to  have  been  specially  haunted  by  this 
fear,  in  respect  to  Lamech,  their  husband,  and  that  he  made  the  speech 
to  them  to  show  that  their  fears  were  groundless :  —  that,  as  God  has 
pronounced  a  seven-fold  vengeance  on  any  who  should  slay  Cain,  who 
had  been  really  guilty,  he  would  certainly  inflict  a  much  greater  punish- 
ment on  any  who  should  injure  them,  who  were  entirely  innocent  of 
Cain's  enormity ;  and  that,  therefore,  there  were  no  grounds  for  any  such 
alarm  as  is  supposed  to  have  existed,  and  to  have  originated  the  speech. 
Hence,  the  Doctor  read  it  interrogatively,  **  Have  I  slain  a  man  to  my 
wounding,  or  a  young  man  to  my  hurt  ?  "  and  this  he  paraphrases  to 
18* 


210  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

between  the  tAvo  cases  of  Gain  and  Lamech.  Both  are  contem- 
plated to  have  done  violence  to  human  life.  Cain's  act,  as  we 
have  frequently  observed,  denotes  his  destruction  of  charity;  but 
Lamech's,  signifies  his  destruction  of  faith,  and  also,  the  good  that 
had  been  associated  with  it ;  for  he  not  only  slew  a  man  to  his 
wounding,  but  likewise,  a  young  man  to  his  hurt.  He  perpetrated 
a  double  homicide ;  the  former  brought  desolation  on  the  things 
of  faith,  and  so  inflicted  a  wound  upon  his  understanding ;  the 
latter  induced  desolation  on  the  things  of  good,  and  so  produced 
a  hurt  upon  his  will,  which  circumstances  resulted  in  the  complete 
devastation  of  the  church.  Thus,  they  not  only  suffered  the  seven- 
fold vengeance,  which  it  was  predicted  should  come  upon  those 
who  slew  Cain,  but  also,  the  utter  rejection  and  condemnation 
implied  in  the  seventy  and  seven-fold. 

We  need  not  go  further  into  those  details :  it  is  a  clear  fact,  that 
faith  must  perish  when  there  is  no  charity  to  cherish  and  uphold 
its  use.  How  can  the  evil  long  believe  ?  They  have  no  proper 
motive,  either  to  extend  or  preserve  the  knowledges  of  truth  about 
spiritual  things :  the  truths  of  such  a  nature  which  they  behold, 
will  exhibit  to  them  their  moral  deformity,  and  therefore,  they 
shun  them  to  avoid  a  discovery  of  the  hideousness  of  their  own 
characters.  With  such,  one  truth  of  religion  perishes  after 
another,  and  at  last,  they  all  drop  out  of  the  mind,  and  faith  be- 
comes extinct.  Experience  proves  this  to  be  true  of  individuals ; 
and  reason  shows  that  it  is  equally  correct,  in  respect  to  communi- 
ties, whensoever  heresies  obtain  admission  among  them :  they  lead 

mean,  "  I  have  not  killed  a  man  that  I  should  be  wounded,  nor  a  young 
man  that  I  should  be  hurt."  Thus,  two  dignitaries  in  the  same  church, 
furnish  two  essentially  different  interpretations  of  the  same  text ;  both, 
however,  are  compelled  to  add  to,  and  paraphrase,  the  sense  expressed  in 
the  original,  in  order  to  make  it  square  with  their  respective  opinions. 
Others  have  thought,  that  Lamech  was  apprehensive  of  danger  for  having 
taken  two  wives,  which  being  the  first  recorded  instance  of  polygamy, 
may,  also,  have  been  the  first  case  that  had  occurred,  and  that,  by  his 
having  thus  violated  the  institution  of  marriage,  he  had  incurred  tlie 
resentment  of  his  kindred,  and,  consequently,  that  his  speech  is  the 
announcement  of  his  having  retaliated  their  insults !  However  these 
things  might  have  been,  we  do  not  think  there  is  any  good  reason  for 
supposing  them  to  have  been  contemplated  in  the  narrative  before  us. 
The  sense  of  the  original  is  very  fairly  given  in  the  authorized  version  of 
it,  and  it  is  constructed  with  the  view  of  setting  forth  the  spiritual  ideas 
indicated  above,  rather  than  to  repord  any  such  natural  occurrences  as 
these  views  seem  to  express. 


FAITH   LIVES   FHOM   CHARITY.  ^11 

to  divisions,  and  to  the  destruction  of  fraternity.  When  men  ex- 
tinguish charity,  the  uniting  principle  is  gone,  and  howsoever  true 
might  have  been  the  propositions  of  faith,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
disruption,  they  are  sure  to  be  attenuated  and  corrupted  by  the 
self-derived  intelligence  of  men,  and  so  will  perish.  The  genuine 
truths  of  faith  cannot  be  maintained  among  any  people  who  have 
renounced  the  life  of  charity.  They  have  no  congenial  state  into 
which  such  principles  can  flow  and  live.  In  such  cases,  men 
cease  to  view  truth  through  the  soft  and  subduing  influences 
of  love :  they  originate  notions  and  opinions  of  their  own,  and  so 
prefer  their  own  thinking  to  God's  teaching.  This  state  of  things 
becomes  more  and  more  enormous,  until  faith  itself  perishes 
amidst  the  general  corruption.  This  Avas  the  condition  of  the 
church  among  that  branch  of  the  antediluvian  heresies,  called 
Lamech,  It  was  the  condition  of  all  the  churches  of  which  the 
Scriptures  speak  as  having  come  to  an  end.  The  Jewish  church 
perished,  because  the  people  had  no  true  faith  in  the  Word  of  God, 
but  instead  thereof,  substituted  the  tradition  of  the  elders.  It  was,  in 
consequence  of  its  impurities  and  selfishness,  broken  up  into  sects, 
of  which  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  the  most  conspicuous. 
The  Ess  ones  and  Herodians,  were  others  of  inferior  importance  ; 
all,  however,  partaking  of  the  same  common  depravity ;  they  had 
no  faith  in  the  teachings  and  predictions  of  their  own  Scriptures  : 
they  had  perverted  the  meaning  of  the  prophecies,  which  declared 
the  nature,  manner,  and  objects  of  the  Messiah's  coming,  and 
hence,  they  slew  him  when  he  came.  The  like  destitution  of  faith 
is  to  be  a  characteristic  with  the  people  of  the  church,  at  the 
period  of  the  Lord's  second  coming;  wherefore,  he  inquired, 
"  When  the  son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  in  the  earth  ?  " 
(Luke  xviii.  8.)  It  is  easy,  then,  to  see  how  it  was,  that  faith 
perished  in  the  posterity  of  Cain,  by  whom  charity  had  been  first 
•extinguished. 

The  people  originated  notions  of  religion,  which  had  no  higher 
Tiuthority  than  their  own  speculations,  and  they  were  set  up  for  the 
gratification  of  themselves  and  the  adoption  of  others.  Those 
others  did  not  long  see  them  in  the  same  light,  and  therefore,  they 
produced  new  ones  themselves,  so  that  "  Cain  begat  Enoch,  and 
Enoch  begat  Irad,  and  Irad  begat  Mehujael,  and  Mehujael  begat 
Methusael,  and  Methusael  begat  Lamech."  Similar  genealogical 
successions  of  heresies  could  easily  be  pointed  out,  as  having 
taken  place  during  the  progression  of  the  Christian  churches  ;  but 


212  ANTEtrlLUVIAN    HISTOKf- 

on  these  we  cannot  enter  now.  The  people  of  those  ancient  times 
divided  to  rule  ;  and  acting  upon  this  maxim  of  the  father  of  lies, 
led  to  the  begetting  of  Lamech,  with  whom  the  principle  of  faith 
and  all  the  little  remaining  love  of  goodness  perished  ;  wherefore 
he  is  declared  to  have  slain  a  man  to  his  wounding,  and  a  young 
man  [i.  c,  in  Hebrew,  a  little  child]  to  his  hurt. 

How  terrible  are  the  consequences  of  heresies  in  the  church  I 
How  injurious  are  they  to  the  common  weal  of  man !  What  hin- 
drances do  they  oppose  to  human  progress !  How  successfully  do 
they  weaken  and  break  up  all  the  ties  of  spiritual  affection  1  What 
fallacies  have  they  forged  to  restrain  the  freedom  of  human 
thought !  The  vain  imaginations  of  perverted  minds,  having  let 
loose  the  activities  of  a  corrupted  heart  upon  society,  brought  in 
disaster  and  dismay  upon  the  church.  From  these  considerations 
we  learn  that  Enoch  was  the  first  heresy  which  Cain  begat.  Of 
the  nature  of  it  we  are  not  informed :  the  narrative  merely  states 
that  he  was  born  and  begat  Irad,  and  then  we  read  no  more  about 
him.  He  was  not  the  Enoch  who  is  described  to  have  walked 
with  God,  and  who,  the  apostle  tells,  was  translated  that  he  should 
not  see  death.  (Gen.  v.  22.  Heb.  xi.  5.)  This  Enoch  was  not  a 
descendant  of  Cain  at  all :  he  was  the  offspring  of  Jared  from  tlie 
line  of  Seth,  who  is  spoken  of  as  Adam's  third  son.  This  race  was 
altogether  of  another  quality  to  that  of  Cain.  There  was  also  a 
Lamech  from  the  same  race.  (Gen.  v.  25.)  It  is  requisite  to 
notice  these  circumstances,  in  order  to  prevent  a  confusion,  which 
might  otherwise  take  place  from  the  identity  of  the  names.  Schis- 
matic churches  possess  the  true  names  of  things  that  have  to  be 
believed  ;  but  then  they  attach  false  notions  to  them.  The  thing 
is  not  to  be  judged  of  merely  by  the  name :  the  name  must  be 
examined  and  explained  to  be  understood.  There  are  certain  sec- 
tions in  the  Christian  church,  which  retain  common  names  for  the 
doctrines  they  profess,  and  yet  they  believe  very  differently  con- 
cerning them.  Thus  the  Godhead,  atonement,  mediation,  faith, 
and  some  others,  are  general  names  received  by  all,  and  yet  many 
differ  very  widely  in  the  ideas  which  are  attached  to  them :  so  that 
false  ideas  in  the  church  are  expressed  by  the  same  names  as  tliose 
that  are  true :  and  therefore,  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  finding 
that  there  was  an  Enoch  who  was  a  heretic,  as  well  as  an  Enoch 
who  walked  with  God.  Concerning  this  latter  Enoch  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  again. 

These  remarks  bring:  ug  to  consider  what  is  meant  by  the  cir- 


CITY,   THE    REPRESENTATIVE    OF    DOCTRINE.  213 

cumstance,  of  Cain  building  a  city  and  calling  it  after  the  name 
of  his  son,*  That  a  community,  influenced  by  certain  prejudices 
and  opinions,  should  separate  themselves  from  their  brethren  and 
emigrate  to  some  other  locality,  with  the  view  of  building  a  town 
for  their  future  residence,  may  be  easily  conceived.  Modern  his- 
tory furnishes  examples  of  a  similar  character.  Nevertheless,  we 
do  not  conceive  this  to  have  been  meant  by  the  narrative  before 
us :  a  fact  of  this  nature  may  have  suggested  the  employment  of 
such  a  history  as  the  suitable  basis  for  denoting  some  spiritual 
circumstance,  without  intending  thereby  to  express  what  appears 
upon  the  letter.  But  without  dwelling  upon  this  point,  it  is  plain, 
from  the  series  of  things  treated  of,  that  by  the  city  which  Cain  is 
said  to  have  built,  is  to  be  understood  the  preparation  of  something 
for  the  mind  to  dwell  in,  rather  than  erections  for  the  residence  of 
the  body. 

By  a  city,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  is  meant  the  doctrinal  views  of 
religion  which  are  entertained  by  the  persons  of  whom  it  is  pred- 
icated. Men  live  in  their  opinions :  they  are,  as  it  were,  the 
houses  in  which  their  affections  dwell,  and  a  number  of  opinions 
constitute  a  spiritual  city;  "a  city  of  holiness,"  if  the  opinions 
are  doctrinally  true,  but  "  a  city  of  destruction,"  if  they  are  heret- 
ical and  false.  Men  who  believe  what  is  true  and  live  therein, 
are  contemplated  as  dwelling  in  the  "city  of  God."  Solomon 
wrote,  that  "the  rich  man's  wealth  is  his  strong  city,"  (Prov.  x.  15,) 
because  a  rich  man  is  one  who  knows  truth ;  and  this  spiritual 
wealth  is  a  strong  city.  The  cities  of  refuge,  {Numb.  xxxv.  6-12,} 
appointed  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  for  the  protection  of 
those  who  unintentionally  did  injury  to  another,  represented  the 
doctrinal  truths  of  religion  to  which  those  are  to  flee,  who,  through 
ignorance  of  it,  may  have  done  harm  to  society.  Such  truths 
both  teach  and  protect  those  who  adopt  them,  with  a  view  to  life 
and  safety.  The  cities  of  Judah,  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
Word,  and  others,  considered  to  have  been  the  cities  of  Israel, 

*  It  is  curious  to  observe  the  oversights  into  which  commentators  are 
sometimes  led.  Ptolemy  is  said  to  mention  a  city  Anuehtha,  in  Susiana, 
or  Khuzestan,  a  country  lying  eastward  from  Chaldea ;  this,  the  learned 
Huet,  believed  to  be  the  same  city,  under  a  Chaldee  name,  as  Hanakh  or 
Enoch,  built  by  Cain-  See  Univer.  Hist.  vol.  i.  p.  151.  But,  surely  it 
must  occur  to  the  most  superficial  thinker,  to  inquire,  how  a  city  built 
before  the  flood,  should  have  remained  after  it,  if  all  things  perished  in 
that  catastrophe,  with  the  exception  of  Noah  and  his  family,  as  was 
believed  by  Huet,  and  the  writers  of  the  Universal  History  ? 


214  ANTEDILirVIAN   HISTORT. 

likewise  reprresented  the  doctrinal  truths  of  the  churcn ;  the  for- 
mer, those  truths  which  relate  to  our  duty  to  God,  and  the  latter, 
those  which  treat  of  our  duty  to  man.  The  "  city  of  habitation," 
(Psalm  cvii.  7,)  signifies  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  which  teach 
men  the  way  to  live  for  heaven.  And  "  the  cities  without  inhab- 
itant," (Isaiah  vi.  11,)  denote  doctrinal  truths  without  their  corre- 
sponding goodness. 

Cities,  naturally,  are  such  by  virtue  of  the  people  wlio  inhabit 
them,  and  from  thence  they  are  found  to  possess  certain  character- 
istics of  their  own.  Every  one  may  be  acquainted  with  tliis  fact, 
who  knows  how  to  observe  n:ien  and  things.  How  frequently  do 
we  hear  those  residences  of  men  spoken  of,  nnder  some  cognomen 
intended  to  express  their  general  feature !  Some  are  said  to  be 
eommercialy  some  manvfadunng,  some  low,  some  proudy  some 
ignorant,  some  learned,  some  industrious,  some  idle.  In  short,  the 
idiosyncraeies  of  cities  differ  as  much  as  tlie  individualities  of 
men :  they  acquire  a  distinctiveness  from  the  principles  which 
influence  them :  for  a  city  is,  as  it  were,  a  man,  a  larger  man  than 
the  individual,  nevertheless  a  man  as  to  all  his  moral  activities 
and  intellectual  operations ;  so  that  a  city,  as  a  collection  of  men, 
actually  exhibits  the  doctrinal  views  and  sentiments  which  may 
have  contributed  to  the  production  of  the  cognomen  by  which  it 
is  known.  This  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  circumstance,  of  cities; 
being  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  to  represent  the  doctrinal  opin- 
ions of  the  people  of  whom  they  are  predicated ;  and  why,  also, , 
certain  appellations  are  sometimes  applied  to  them.  Jerusalem  is 
said  to  be  "  builded  as  a  city  that  is  compact  together,"  (Psalm 
cxxii.  3,)  to  express  the  unity  and  solidity  of  those  doctrinal  truths 
of  tlie  church  of  which  it  is  the  type  :  hence,  also,  it  is  called  the 
*'^ Heavenly  Jerusalem,"  (Heb.  xii.  22,)  and  described  as  the  holy 
city  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven.  (Rev.  xxi.  2.)  It  is 
not  a  natural  city  of  men  and  houses  which  is  to  come  down,  but 
a  disclosure  of  the  doctrinal  truths  of  the  Word:  those  come 
down  from  heaven  to  guide  men  thither :  and  the  Lord  said  "  A 
city  that  is  set  on  a  hill,  cannot  be  hid,"  (Matt.  v.  14,)  to  teach  us, 
that  the  doctrines  of  trutli,  when  grounded  on  the  elevated  princi 
pies  of  love,  will  always  be  conspicuous  for  their  brightness  and 
their  beauty. 

Thus,  it  is  plain,  that  by  a  city  is  denoted  doctrinal  things.  Let 
us,  then,  apply  this  signification  to  that  which  Cain  is  said  to  have 
built.   It  will  at  once  occur  to  the  reflecting,  when  they  remember 


SIGNIFICATION    OF    A    CITY    ILLT7STRATEP.  215 

tiie  series  of  spiritual  things  treated  of,  that  this  circumstance  was 
intended  to  represent  the  people,  collecting  together  the  various 
materials  on  which  they  had  grounded  their  heretical  opinion,  and 
tiierefore,  arranging  and  constructing  them  into  a  doctrinal  form 
for  their  future  use.  This  idea  may  be  illustrated  by  many  cir- 
cumstances which  have  taken  place  in  the  Christian  church.  This 
has  been  broken  up  into  numerous  sects,  some  of  which  have  stood 
in  the  relation  of  parents  to  others.  It  was  predicted  that  one 
would  be  "  the  mother  of  harlots."  (Rev.  xvii.  5.)  The  state  of 
the  people,  during  the  decline  of  all  churches,  is  pretty  much  the 
same :  they  corrupt  the  truth  and  build  other  sentiments,  which 
they  attempt  to  fortify,  by  inventions  of  their  own.  For  example, 
let  us  take  the  doctrines  of  Predestination  and  Grace.*  Whatever 
truths  might  have  been  originally  expressed  by  those  terms,  it  is 
quite  evident,  that  in  the  process  of  time,  they  became  entirely  per- 
verted, and  that  others  were  substituted  in  their  stead,  A  contro- 
versy concerning  them  was  begun  in  the  ninth  century  (they  had 
then  existed  about  four  hundred  years)  by  the  Saxon,  Godoschal- 
chus,  and  it  was  continued  with  more  or  less  severity  for  a  period 
of  seven  hundred  years.  During  all  this  time,  the  people  were 
wandering  in  tiieir  faith  concerning  these  things.  They  had,  no 
settled  convictions  upon  the  subjects,  which  those  terms  were 
intended  to  express :  but  in  the  sixteenth  century,  a  new  champion 
arose,  who,  with  the  materials  of  this  controversy,  constructed,  as 
it  were,  a  new  city,  which  has  not  been  called  after  the  name  of 
those  who  founded  it,  but  after  Calvin,  their  son  in  the  faith.f 
The  case  of  Cain  building  a  city  and  calling  its  name  Enoch,  was 
something  similar  to  this. 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  that  people  had  become  fugitive  and 
vagabond  in  reference  to  the  things  of  faith.  Their  notions  about 
spiritual  and  holy  things,  had  no  coherence  with  each  other,  because 
they  had  departed  from  the  face  of  the  Lord,  from  whom  alone  all 
excellence  and  consistency  descend :  and  therefore,  they  are  de- 
scribed to  have  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod,  which  is  a  state  of  wan- 
dering and  uncertainty  about  the  principles  of  faith.     And  now,  to 

*  The  correct  idea  of  Predestination,  is,  that  God  "  created  every  one 
for  His  Glory,"  (Isaiah  xliii,  7,)  that  is,  for  the  enjoyment  of  His  bless- 
ings, so  far  as  they  comply  with  the  means  placed  within  their  power. 
Grace,  is  the  divine  mercy,  which  saves  mankind  according  to  appointed 
means. 

t  See  Mosheim,  cent.  v.  sec.  23 ;  cent.  ix.  sec.  22 ;  cent.  xvi.  sec.  13. 


216  ANTEDILirvlAN    HISTOKr, 

secure  the  credibility  and  adherence  of  the  people,  it  became  re 
|uisite  to  re-examine  the  sentiments,  winch  bad  led  to  the  produc- 
tion of  such  unsteadiness  of  life  and  opinions,  —  to  cast  away  all 
those  notions,  which  may  have  fastened  themselves  as  excresences, 
upon  their  general  principles,  and  so  to  re-arrange  and  construct 
the  whole  of  their  doctrinal  views  of  religion,  that  they  might 
appear  as  a  new  and  more  Compact  city.  Thus,  the  description  of 
Cain  building  a  city,  and  calling  it  Enoch,  i.  e.,  instruction^  was 
intended  to  represent  those  who  held  the  heresy  of  Cain,  striving 
to  render  it  attractive.  In  our  own  day  we  speak  of  attractive 
speculations  as  "  castle  building : "  surely,  then,  we  need  not  won- 
der at  its  being  said  by  those,  among  whom  figurative  language 
was  so  prevalent,  that  the  construction,  or  arrangement  of  certain 
doctrinal  views  of  religion,  was  the  hvUding  of  a  city.  We  speak, 
also,  of  building  up  an  opinion,  and  of  fortifying  our  sentiments  : 
and,  to  describe  the  confidence  of  some  men  in  the  notions  they 
entertain,  it  is  sometimes  said  of  them  that,  it  is  the  city  in  which 
they  dwell. 

When,  then,  we  see,  that  by  Enoch,  as  the  descendant  of  Cain, 
was  denoted  the  origination  of  a  new  heresy,  it  is  easy  to  perceive 
from  these  reasonings,  facts,  and  illustrations,  that  the  building  of 
a  city  and  calling  it* Enoch,  — instruction,  —  was  intended  to  rep- 
resent the  construction,  erection,  and  building,  in  an  attractive 
form,  of  certain  doctrinal  notions  of  religious  things  for  the  recep- 
tion and  faith  of  that  people.  The  teachers  of  truth  are  the  build- 
ers of  the  city  of  God ;  they,  by  the  divine  assistance,  erect  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  and  cause  her  to  be  a  praise  in  the  earth ; 
whereas  the  teachers  of  error  are  the  builders  of  the  city  of  de- 
struction, —  the  architects  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan. 

These  circumstances,  together  with  the  errors  which  afterwards 
arose  from  that  of  Enoch,  and  especially  the  extinction  of  all  faith 
in  spiritual  things,  produced  by  the  heresy  of  Lamech,  terminates 
this  branch  of  Antediluvian  History.  We  read  no  more  of  Cain : 
nothing  further  of  his  life,  no  record  of  his  death  is  preserved.  The 
whole  narrative  concerning  him  concludes  towards  the  end  of  the 
fourth  chapter,  because,  as  we  have  seen,  the  things  of  the  church 
were  ended  with  his  fifth  descendant,  Lamech. 


COMPAKISON    OF    ABEL    AND   SETH.  217 


CHAPTER  XVm, 

rSE    BIKTH    OP    SETH  — THE    LONQEVITY    OF    HIS     DESCENDANTS  —  AND 
THE   "translation"   OF  ENOCH, 

**  The  notion  of  a  man's  living  to  the  age  of  600  or  1000  years,  was  Egyp- 
tian. —  How  is  this  reconcilable  with  their  precise  knowledge  of  a  solar 
year,  and  with  their  fixing  the  age  of  men,  one  with  another,  to  the 
term  of  28  years  ?  —  This  has  suggested  a  supposition,  that,  by  600  or 
1000  years  in  question,  they  meant  the  duration  of  a  tribe  or  dynasty, 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  its  founder."  —  Webb's  Pauw.,  p.  275. 

On  the  cessation  of  that  division  of  the  most  ancient  church 
called  Cain,  we  are  informed  that,  "  Adam  knew  his  wife  again ; 
and  she  bare  a  son,  and  called  his  name  Seth:  for  God,  said  she^ 
hath  appointed  me  another  seed  instead  of  Abel,  whom  Cain  slew." 
(Gen.  iv.  25,)  Now,  as  Abel  represented  the  principle  of  charity, 
which  had  been  regarded,  by  an  earlier  people  of  the  most  ancient 
church,  to  be  the  chief  thing  of  religion,  and  as  Seth  was  appointed 
as  seed  in  his  place,  we  reach  the  fact  at  once,  that  Seth  repre- 
sented a  principle  of  faith,  out  of  which  charity  was  to  be  devel- 
oped, and  consequently,  that  it  was  given  by  God  for  the  adoption 
of  another  branch  of  the  Adamic  descendants :  this  seems  evident 
from  the  circumstance  of  its  being  said  of  his  posterity,  that  they 
began  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  (Gen.  iv.  26  ;)  that  is,  to 
worship  Him  from  a  principle  of  love  and  charity.  The  state  of 
charity  which  now  began  to  be  cultivated,  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  precisely  of  the  same  exalted  quality  as  that  which  had  pre- 
vailed w^ith  Abel,  because  in  the  communication  of  it,  it  passed 
through  another  medium.  With  Abel,  charity  entered  into  the  af- 
fections by  a  more  internal  way,  than  with  the  posterity  of  Seth. 
With  the  former,  it  arose  out  of  an  impulsive  love,  which  is  an  in- 
ternal principle ;  but  with  the  latter,  it  sprung  up  from  an  intel- 
lectual dictate,  which,  respectively,  was  an  external  principle. 
But  this  merciful  provision  for  the  development  and  security  of 
charity,  did  not  continue  in  its  integrity ;  for  we  are  immediately 
informed  of  successive  descendants,  each  of  which  is  intended  to 
express  some  change,  which  the  perceptions  of  truth  in  respect  to 
charity  was  undergoing  among  them,  until  it  finally  perished  among 
a  people  called  Lamech.  The  people,  with  whom  that  faith  which 
had  its  commencement  with  Seth,  perished,  bore  the  same  name  as 
those  with  whom  ended  the  faith  began  with  Cain.  They  were  dis- 
tinct races,  but  are  called  by  the  same  names,  because  they  repre- 
19 


218  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTOKr, 

sented  principles  which  brought  about  the  like  disastrous  mstrlt?^ 
From  these  considerations,  it  is  plain  that,  in  the  times  now  treated 
of,  there  were  a  great  variety  of  doctrines  and  sects  which  sep- 
arated from  the  Adamic  church,  each  of  which  was  distinguislied 
by  its  appropriate  appellation:  and  that,  owing  to  the  peculiar 
genius  of  the  people,  their  sentiments  and  heresies  must  have  been 
exceedingly  subtle,  fascinating,  and  dangerous;  much  more  so 
than  any  which  have  existed  in  after-times,  and  hence  it  is,  that 
the  people  professing  them,  are  described  to  have  perished  in  so 
calamitous  a  manner. 

Now,  as  Seth  was  significant  of  a  new  faith,  and  consequently, 
represented  the  people  to  whom  it  was  given,  and  by  whom  it  was 
embraced,  it  will  follow,  that  all  those  who  are  described  to  have 
descended  from  him  in  the  genealogical  series,  are  the  appropriate 
names  of  so  many  distinct  branches  and  separations  from  the  faith 
so  called.  This  circumstance  at  once  suggests  an  idea,  which 
will  assist  in  explaining,  in  some  measure,  what  is  meant  by  tlie 
extraordinary  ages  of  those,  who  are  usually  called  the  Antedilu- 
vian Patriarchs,  That  the  ages  of  mankind,  in  those  times,  were 
not  so  great,  as  that  they  should  have  lived  so  many  hundreds  of 
years,  and  Jared  and  Methusael  to  nearly  a  thousand,  may  appear 
very  obvious  to  those,  who  will  venture  out  of  that  track  of  think- 
ing on  this  subject,  which  so  commonly  prevails. 

Antediluvian  longevity  is  one  of  those  subjects  which  has  been 
felt  to  be  full  of  difficulties,  in  most  ages  of  the  church,  whether 
Jewish  or  Christian.  Josephus  abides  by  the  letter,  and  cites 
several  authors  of  Egyptian,  Chaldean,  and  Phoenician  history,  to 
show  "that  the  ancients  lived  a  thousand  years."  (Josephus, 
Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  book  1,  chap.  iii.  9.)  They,  however, 
prove  no  such  thing.  It  is  not  certain  that  those  writers  allude  to 
the  ages  of  individual  men.  He  does  not  produce  their  evidence, 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  refer,  either  to  some  poetic 
idea,  or  dynastic  existence. 

Christian  commentators,  notwithstanding  considerable  ingenuity 
has  been  displayed  upon  this  inquiry,  have  not  been  able  to  offer 
any  explanation  of  this  subject.  Some,  indeed,  with  the  vieAv  of 
reducing  the  duration  of  human  life  down  to  the  standard  which 
authentic  history  assures  us  was  its  common  extent,  have  thought 
that  lunar  years  are  meant. *~   But  this  suggestion,  though  it  might 

*  Plutarch  observes,  that  "The  Egyptians  introduce  an  infinite  number 
of  years  into  their  genealogies,  because  \h.e.Y  reckon  months  for  years." 


OPINIONS    ON   LONGEVITY.  219 

b-e  supposed  to  remove  some  of  the  embarrassments,  is  found  to 
create  others  equally  difficult.  It  would  make  the  whole  period, 
from  Adam  to  Noah,  only  about  one  hundred  and  forty  solar  years, 
and  many  of  these  antediluvians  must  have  been  parents  in  tlieir 
infancy.  According  to  this  method  of  calculation,  Enoch  would 
have  been  exactly  five  years  old  when  he  became  the  father  of 
Methuselah.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  this  view  of  the  case  does 
not  offer  the  right  solution.  Men  feel,  that  to  believe  in  such 
extraordinary  ages,  is  a  large  draft  upon  their  credibility ;  but 
still,  they  try  to  persuade  themselves  into  the  idea.  Some  say, 
that  vegetable  food,*  and  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere,  in  those 
early  times  of  the  world,  contributed  to  this  happy  result.  We 
can  easily  conceive  that  such  circumstances  must  have  a  tendency 
to  maintain  the  health,  and  prolong  the  life  :  but  then  it  does  not 
always  do  so.  Science  does  not  teach  us  that  a  superior  quality 
of  food  prolongs  the  life  of  man,  more  than  that  which  results 
from  an  inferior  quality,  provided  it  be  wholesome.  The  poor,  who 
live  hard,  supposing  they  have  enough,  live  as  long  as  the  rich, 
who  fare  sumptuously  every  day.  This  objection  is  answered  by 
the  suggestion,  that  the  original  constitution  of  men,  in  those  early 
times,  was  more  robust  and  sound.  Of  course,  all  this  is  mere 
conjecture.  The  Scriptures  do  not  furnish  us  with  such  reasons 
for  the  supposed  results.  Some  have  imagined,  that  because  God 
had  newly  formed  mankind,  he  willed  that  they  should  be  long 
livers,  and  that  this  circumstance  is  sufficient  to  account  for  such 
extraordinary  duration  of  human  life.  (Josephus,  Ant.  book  1, 
chap.  iii.  4,  adopted  by  Dr.  Dodd.)  We  must  close  the  argument 
with  those  who  would  refer  the  fact  in  dispute  to  God's  peculiar 
will,  until  they  have  produced  the  evidence,  on  which  their 
acquaintance  with  that  will,  in  this  respect,  is  founded. 
Another  author,  (when  making  this  extract,  I  omitted  to  transcribe  his 
name,)  say«,  that  "They  reckoned  the  years  by  the  inundations  of  the 
Nile,  which  overflowed  twice  in  every  tolar  year."  This  latter  vi-ew  would 
reduce  the  antediluvian  ages  one  half:  but  I  have  not  met  with  any 
writer  who  has  ventured  to  adopt  this  speculatibn.  SL  Austin  (De 
Civitat.  Del,  lib.  xv.  cap.  12,)  mentions,  that  some  ancient  writers  sup- 
posed the  year  to  be  divided  into  ten  parts,  and  that  each  of  these  deci- 
mals was  taken  for  one  year.  This,  of  course,  would  reduce  these  extra- 
ordinary ages  to  one  tenth  of  their  present  amount ;  so  that  the  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  years  of  Methuselem,  would  be  ninety-six  years 
and  nine  montlis. 

♦  Beverovicus,  a  German  phj^ician,  attributes  the  longevity  of  the 
patriarchs'  lives,  to  their  feeding  upon  raw  flesh  J  —  Rev.  J.  Hewlett j  B.D. 


220  ANTEmLUVIAN   HISTOICY, 

But  such  long  life  is  said  to  have  been  required  for  the  peopIing^ 
of  the  earth.  This,  however,  is  a  mere  invention.  There  is  no 
scriptural  statement  to  that  effect.  If  such  had  been  the  intention 
of  such  longevity,  how  did  it  happen,  that  some  were  so  late  in 
beginning  to  be  fathers  ?  Seth  was  one  hundred  and  five  years 
old  when  he  begat  his  first  son,  Enos ;  (Gen.  v.  6 ;  ii,  25 ;)  and 
Methuselah  was  a  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  before  he  begat  hia 
son  Ijamech,  (Gren.  v.  25,)  who  is  mentioned  as  his  first  descendant. 
Surely,  if  the  population  of  the  earth  had  been  one  of  the  purposes 
of  this  longevity,  we  should  not  read  of  circumstances  wMch  indi- 
cate delay. 

Some  have  supposed,  that  those  ancient  people  were  peculiarly 
dear  to  God,  and  that  this  was  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  their 
remarkable  ages.  It  is  true,  that  God  loves  his  creatures  j  and  it 
is  equally  true  that  men  may  be  more  sensible  of  this  love  in  one 
age  than  another,  because  they  may,  by  greater  obedience  to  his 
laws,  be  distinguished  by  superior  virtues :  but  it  is  not  true,  that 
God  ever  intended  that  the  number  of  men's  years  should  measure 
the  extent  of  his  love.  If  so,  the  death  of  infants  would  imply, 
that  he  did  not  love  them ;  or,  if  so,  it  is  so  little,  that  when  com- 
pared with  that  bestowed  upon  the  aged,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  men- 
tioned. We  see,  however,  that  the  young  and  virtuous  are  fre- 
quently cut  off  in  the  bloom  of  their  hopes  and  tl^  prime  of  their 
usefulness ;  while  the  wicked  are  not  unfrequently  permitted  to 
continue  to  an  advanced  age  in  a  profligate  career.  It  is  plain, 
then,  tkit  those  passages  of  the  Scriptures,  which  promise  length 
of  days  as  the  result  of  righteousness,  (Psalms  xxi.  4 ;  Ixi.  5,  6,) 
and  that  portion  of  the  Decalogue,  which  commands  us  to  lionor 
our  father  and  mother,  that  our  days  may  be  long  in  the  land, 
(Exod.  XX.  12,)  are  not  to  be  taken  as  promises  that  natural  life 
will  be  extended  by  the  observance  of  such  duties*  We  see  per- 
sons removed,,  every  day,  notwithstanding  the  excellence  of  their 
piety,  and  the  devotedness  of  their  attachment  to  their  parents. 
The  length  of  days,  that  is  to  be  tlie  result  of  those  virtues,  will 
consist  in  the  perpetuation  of  those  spiritual  states  which  they 
induce.  States  have  the  same  relation  to  the  soul  of  man,  that 
days  have  to  his  body :  hence,  days  are  significant  of  states. 
Every  new  state,  in  the  life  of  religion,  is  a  fresh  spiritual  day, 
which  is  mercifully  prolonged  to  the  possessor  by  the  beneficence 
of  God.  The  land  which  He  giveth  us,  is  the  possession  of  some 
enjoyment  in  His  own  kingdom ;  and  the  duties  of  filial  affection 
are  among  the  means  by  which  it  is  to  be  obtained. 


MAN^S   DAYS   A   HUNDRED  AND   TWENTY   YEARS.        221 

But  the  condition  of  goodness  among  the  antediluvians  continu- 
olly  decreased,  and  that  which  was  preserved  remained  only  among 
a  few ;  the  great  mass  of  people  having  fallen  into  those  general 
corruptions,  which  are  stated  to  have  occasioned  the  deluge. 
Their  longevity,  then,  supposing  it  to  have  related  to  individual 
men,  cannot,  with  any  consistency,  be  interpreted  as  evidence  that 
God  loved  them  better  than  the  subsequent  generations  of  our 
race.  And  on  this  fact,  another  reason,  sometimes  put  forth,  to 
account  for  the  supposed  great  ages  of  those  people,  —  namely,  to 
afford  them  opportunities  for  obtaining  high  degrees  of  spiritual 
and  intellectual  excellence,  —  must  fall  to  the  ground*  It  did  not 
answer  the  supposed  purpose.  They  did  not  attain  those  virtues. 
They  appear  to  have  been  worse  in  their  age  than  in  their  youth, 
or  the  catastrophe,  in  which  they  were  finally  overwhelmed,  would 
not  have  transpired. 

That  those  ages  were  not  intended  to  be  expressed  of  individual 
men,  .is  further  evident  from  the  third  verse  of  the  sixth  chapter 
of  Genesis,  where  it  is  written,  "  The  Lord  said.  My  spirit  shall 
not  always  strive  with  man,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh :  yet  his  days 
shall  be  a  hundred  and  twenty  years."  Here,  some  arcana,  apart 
from  what  is  mentioned  in  the  literal  sense,  is  plainly  meant,  for 
the  statement  of  man  living  a  hundred  and  twenty  years,  has  no 
literal  connection  with  what  precedes,  nor  had  it  any  general  real- 
isation in  the  history  which  follows,  Noah  lived  three  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  the  flood.  (Gen.  ix.  28.)  Shem,  his  son,  lived 
five  hundred  years  after  he  begat  Arphaxad  :  Arphaxad  lived  four 
hundred  and  three  years  after  he  begat  Salah :  and  Salah  lived, 
after  he  begat  Eber,  four  hundred  and  three  years :  and  Eber, 
after  he  begat  Peleg,  four  hundred  and  thirty  years.*  From  these 
facts,  it  is  plain,  that  the  declaration,  "yet  his  days  shall  be  a 
hundred  and  twenty  years,"  could  not  have  been  intended  to  pre- 
dict what  should  be  the  period  of  human  life  in  the  world. 

It  is,  indeed,  thought,  that  this  remarkable  passage  was  designed 
to  express  the  time  which  should  elapse  between  the  date  of  its 

*  Gen.  xi.  11-17.  Hesiod,  speaking  of  the  golden  age,  says,  "The 
growing  child  was  nursed  a  hundred  years  by  his  careful  mother,  very 
infantine  in  his  home."  —  Weeks  and  Days,  v.  126.  The  longevity  here 
implied,  like  the  period  to  which  it  is  assigned,  is,  doubtless,  a  poetic 
statement,  and  not  a  literal  circumstance ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  no  collateral 
evidence  of  the  personal  longevity,  which  Sharon  Turner,  in  his  Sacred 
History  of  the  World,  has  supposed  it  to  be. 
19* 


222  A^TTEDILirVIAN   HISTOKI'. 

utterance,  and  that  of  the  flood  :  and  thus,  that  it  was  the  period 
of  respite,  which  God  granted  to  the  people  for  repentance,  before 
the  execution  of  that  calamity.*  But  this  view  of  the  case,  to  be 
reasonable,  should  agree  with  the  Scripture  chronology ;  which  it 
does  not  [  Noah  was  five  hundred  years  old  when  he  begat  Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japhet.  (Gen.  v.  32.)  It  was  a  considerable  period 
after  this,  before  the  supposed  respite  was  uttered :  and  yet  it  w?l9 
"  In  the  sixth  hundredth  year  of  Noah's  life  that  the  fountains  of 
the  great  deep  were  broken  up ; "  (Gen.  vii.  11 ;)  so  that  no  such 
period  did  elapse,  as  the  passage  is  supposed  to  promise,  and  there- 
fore, it  cannot  be  the  correct  view  of  the  subject. 

The  fact  is,  that  those  days  which  were  to  be  a  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  were  not  intended  to  refer  to  the  duration  of  natural 
life  at  all ;  but  those  numbers  are  made  use  of  because,  according^ 
to  the  ecclesiastical  computation  of  those  early  times,  they  signify 
the  lowest  condition  of  spiritual  life,  which  could  remain  with  man, 
and  which  is  afterwards  so  frequently  called  a  remnant,  and  out  of 
which  a  new  dispensation  of  religious  truth  and  goodness  was 
always  to  be  raised,  when  the  corruption  of  a  former  one  should 
bring  it  to  its  end.  When  a  church  has  so  far  declined,  that  its 
principles  of  faith  and  action  have  been  rejected  by  the  general 
mass  of  the  people,  then  a  new  dispensation  has  always  been 
raised  up  by  the  special  interpositicai  of  the  Divine  Providence, 
This  we  find  Avas  the  case  with  the  Antediluvians.  They  contin- 
ually decreased  in  their  attachment  to  tlie  good  and  excellent 
thing's  of  religion,  until  they  were  found  to  remain  only  among  a 
few,  when  a  new  church  was  raised  up  under  the  name  of  Noah, 
A  similar  falling  away  distinguished  the  Noetic  dispensation,  and 
when  it  ^vns  dispersed,  at  the  building  of  Babel,  another  new 
church  was  begun  with  Abraham  and  his  descendants,  who,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose,  were  among  the  best  of  those  who  remained 
of  the  preceding  dispensation.  The  Jewish  church  continued, 
with  various  vicissitudes,  until  the  fulness  of  time  arrived,  which 
was  the  completing  of  its  corruptions,  and  then  it  was  made  to 
pass  away,  as  to  all  the  vitality  that  had  ever  belonged  to  it,  by 
the  manifestation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  another  new 
church,  called  the  Christian,  was  begun.     In  all  these  cases  tlie 

*  Dr.  Geddes  reads,  the  whole  passage  thus  :  **  I  will  never,  unawares, 
pronounce  or  execute  judgment  on  mankind.  They  shall  not  be  punished 
without  a  warning  ;  they  are  but  frail  flesh  ;  and  shall  have  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  given  them  to  repent  and  amend  their  lives. "^ 


FROM   WHAT   NEW   DISPENSATIONS   ARE   BEGUN.       223 

Commencement  of  the  new  was  effected  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  those  persons,  in  whom  any  good  of  the  old  yet  remained. 
And  it  is  this  peculiar  circumstance,  which  has  been  verified  in 
the  history  of  the  decline  and  establishment  of  churches,  which  is 
designed  to  be  represented  by  the  words,  "  His  days  shall  be  a 
hundred  and  twenty  years."  It  denotes  the  lowest  estimate  to 
which  the  good  of  the  church  could  be  reduced,  and  that,  when  so 
reduced,  another  dispensation  should  be  commenced  through  its 
instrumentality.  In  this  sense,  it  symbolically  expresses  the  state 
of  every  church  and  people,  previously  to  the  commencement  of 
another,  and  in  no  other  sense  has  it  any  historical  significancy. 

They  who  consider  numbers  in  the  Scriptures  only  in  the  light 
of  arithmetic  or  chronology,  must  needs  have  a  very  worldly  view 
of  the  subjects  treated  of,  whereas  the  true  idea  which  ought  to 
be  attached  to  such  things,  is  spiritual.  This,  indeed,  must  be 
evident  from  the  circumstance  of  the  disaster,  which  was  inevit- 
able, on  David's  numbering  the  people.  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  2  - 13.  It 
is  difficult  to  see  what  crime  was  involved  in  ascertaining  the 
numerical  strength  of  his  kingdom.  Most  nations  have  thought  it 
useful,  and  adopted  it,  for  the  purposes  of  the  state,  without  in- 
tending thereby  to  perpetrate  any  offence  against  the  Divine  laws. 
But  it  was  a  representative  history ;  and  when  it  is  known  that 
such  numbering  was  significant  of  man,  attempting  from  himself, 
to  ascertain  the  quality  of  faith  and  virtue  in  the  church,  which 
can  be  known  only  to  the  Lord,  we  at  once  see  the  heinousness  of 
the  offence  represented,  and  consequently,  why  it  was  that  such 
dangers  resulted.  In  the  Revelation  it  is  said,  "  Let  him  that  hath 
understanding  count  the  number  of  the  beast,"  (Rev.  xiii.  18 ;) 
which  signifies,  that  he  whose  mind  is  enlightened  from  the  Word, 
may  know,  what  is  the  nature  and  quality  of  those  doctrines  by 
which  the  Word  has  been  falsified.  The  falsification  of  the  Word 
here  more  particularly  alluded  to,  is  that  whereby  charity  and  good 
works  have  been  separated  from  faith,  and  the  latter  set  up  as  the 
only  essential  f9r  salvation.  This  is  the  beast:  and  his  number  is 
said  to  be  six  hundred  three-score  and  six,  to  denote,  how  fully 
such  a  doctrine  perverts  all  the  truths  of  revelation.* 

*  The  Greeks  expressed  numbers  by  the  letters  of  their  alphabet,  and 
therefore,  it  has  been  supposed,  that  the  number  of  the  beast,  as  the 
number  of  a  man,  referred  to  some  individual,  the  letters  of  whose  name, 
considered  as  numerals,  would  make  666.  On  this  ground,  much  pains 
have  been  taken,  and  some  ingenuity  displayed,  to  find  the  number  in 


224  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

The  Psalmist  says,  "  The  days  of  our  years,  are  three-score 
year^  and  ten ;  and-  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  he  four-score 
years,  yet  is  their  strength  labor  and  sorrow :  for  it  is  soon  cut  off 
and  we  flee  away."  (Psalm  xc.  10.)  It  is  true,  that  seventy  or 
eighty  years  is  the  average  of  what  is  now  called  a  good  old  age : 
but  it  must  be  plain  to  the  reflecting,  that  this  passage  does  not 
treat  of  such  a  subject.     More  than  two  thirds  of  the  human  race 


some  persons  or  circumstances  connected  with  the  Popish  religion.  See 
Lowman,  and  Archbishop  Newcome.  The  views  most  generally  received 
for  this  purpose  are  two  ;  first,  the  sentence,  vicarivs  filii  Dei,  on  the 
frontlet  of  the  triple  crown  of  the  Pope,  is  thought,  by  some,  to  be  very 
conclusive  in  pointing  him  out  to  be  the  beast,  because  the  letters,  em- 
ployed as  numerals,  in  that  sentence,  when  selected,  and  added,  make  up 
the  sum  666,  And,  second,  the  name  Lateinos,  mentioned  by  Iren^us, 
and  made  use  of  by  the  Greeks  to  express  the  circumstance  of  the  Romish 
church,  having  latinized  every  thing  pertaining  to  it,  has,  by  others,  been 
considered  the  name  of  the  beast,  because  it  contains  the  number  spoken 
of;  and  this  view,  is  thought  to  be  corroborated  by  the  fact  of  the  Hebrew 
name  for  the  Roman  kingdom,  being  Romiith,  the  Hebrew  letters  for 
which,  considered  as  numerals,  make  the  same  number,  thus  — 


Lateinos. 

Romiith. 

A 

....     30 

"1 

.     ...  200 

A 

1 

1 

...      6 

T 

.     .  300 

12 

...    40 

E 

.      5 

*i 

...     10 

I 

.    10 

1 

.     ...     10 

N 

.    50 

n 

.     .     .400 

0 

.    70 
.  200 

666 

666 

These  coincidences  are  certainly  remarkable,  but  then,  it  requires  some- 
thing more  to  assure  us,  that  such  are  the  facts  referred  to :  and, 
specially  it  would  require,  that  such  coincidences  were  peculiar  and 
isolated :  but  this  is  not  the  cjise.  The  Rev.  Robt.  Hindmarsh,  in  his 
Letters  to  Dr.  Priestley,  p.  184,  says,  that  he  had  made  out  about  a 
"  hundred  and  fifty  names,  that  could  no  more  be  supposed  to  have  any 
connection  with  the  contents  of  the  Apocalypse,  than  the  man  in  the 
moon,"  and,  among  others,  he  has  mentioned  '*  Joseph  Smith,  Tomkins, 
and  Benjamin  Be^inet."  This  certainly  shows  that  the  number  of  the 
beast  cannot  mean  the  person,  whose  name  may  happen  to  contain  the 
numerals  which  make  up  the  sum  666.  The  intention  of  this  number,  is 
to  express  the  complete  falsification  above  alluded  to,  wheresoever,  and 
with  whomsoever,  it  may  exist,  but  specially,  that  section  of  the  church 
with  whom  it  has  become  a  doctrine. 


SPIRITUAL    YOUTH    AND   AGE.  225 

die  in  childhood ;  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  adult  population  die 
before  they  reach  the  age  of  sixty ;  not  one  half  of  the  remaining 
thu-d  continue  on  to  eighty ;  and  very  few  have  their  lives  pro- 
longed to  ninety.  What,  then,  becomes  of  the  literal  sense  of  the 
passage,  on  the  supposition  that  it  treats  of  the  duration  of  human 
life  ?  Is  it  a  revelation  only  to  a  few,  not  one  of  which  can  ever 
know  that  it  will  apply  to  him  ?  It  may  be  replied,  that  the  pas- 
sage is  not  designed  to  teach  us,  that  all  will  arrive  at  such  an 
age,  but  that  its  purpose  is,  to  express  a  limit  beyond  Avhich  we 
cannot  reasonably  expect  to  live.  But  this  had  been  tauglit  by- 
many  ages  of  experience,  during  which  some  had  lived  beyond  the 
asserted  limits,  and  therefore,  its  purpose,  as  a  revelation,  must  be 
to  inculcate  something  else.  The  subject  which  is  really  treated 
of,  is  the  spiritual  age  or  state  of  man  —  the  age  of  the  soul,  not 
the  age  of  the  body ;  —  and  this  age  is  measured,  not  by  the  times 
attendant  upon  natural  life,  but  by  the  states  and  conditions  which 
follow  a  religious  life.  The  soul  may  be  young  in  heavenly  things, 
when  the  body  may  be  old  in  worldly  ones.  Our  bodies  may  be 
comparatively  young  in  natural  life,  and  yet  we  may  have  attained 
to  considerable  age  in  spiritual  life.  Youth,  in  spiritual  life,  is 
feebleness  of  thought,  and  the  want  of  experience  in  heavenly 
goodness:  age,  in  spiritual  life,  is  clear  perception  of  truth,  and 
an  ardent  love  for  all  that  is  pure,  and  wise,  and  lovely.  This 
cannot  be  reached  suddenly  or  at  once ;  there  are  progressions  in 
the  states,  wliich  conduce  to  wisdom,  as  there  are  successions  in 
the  years  which  effect  longevity.  We  cannot  pass  from  a  state  of 
ignorance  to  a  condition  of  wisdom,  without  going  through  the 
discipline  of  instruction,  experience,  reasonings,  temptations,  con- 
quests, and  confirmations  in  good  ;  all  of  which  are  so  many  spirit- 
ual years,  by  which  man's  interiors  are  advanced  into  the  gravity 
of  that  wisdom,  which  constitutes  the  age  of  heavenly  manhood. 
From  the  succession  of  these  states,  he  who  is  so  disposed,  may 
see,  among  many  other  wonderful  things  of  the  Divine  Providence, 
that  a  prior  state  is  the  plane  of  that  which  immediately  follows, 
—  the  old  state  must  be  gone  through  before  the  new  one  can 
begin ;  and  also,  that  the  opening  and  arrangement  of  the  thoughts 
and  sensations  of  the  outer  man,  proceed  from  the  unfolding  and 
development  of  the  perceptions  and  delights  of  the  inner  man.  It 
is  by  passing  through  those  states,  that  the  age  and  stature  of  the 
soul  are  measured.  The  old  age  which  the  Scriptures  represent 
to  us  as  venerable,  is  not  the  infirmities  and  decrepitude  of  the 


226  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

body,  but  that  state  of  gravity,  wisdom,  experience,  and  resigna- 
tion to  the  divine  will,  which  ought  to  be  possessed,  by  the  time 
the  body  begins  to  bend  beneath  the  weight  of  advancing  years. 
Age  is  venerable  on  these  accounts,  and  these  are  the  things  to  be 
respected  and  admired.  An  old  man,  living  in  a  state  of  wicked- 
ness, is  an  odious  spectacle:  vice  in  age,  puts  on  its  grimmest 
and  most  horrid  aspect.  Age  should  be  the  companion  of  that 
wisdom  which  can  look  backward,  with  satisfaction  and  gratitude, 
upon  the  conquests  which  have  been  effected  over  vice  and  eiror, 
and  look  forward,  with  a  well-grounded  confidence  in  the  Divine 
mercies,  and  cherish  an  enlightened  resignation  to  the  Divine  will. 
The  aged  man,  in  whom  Christianity  has  been  enabled  to  fix  her 
illustrious  and  lovely  principles,  charms  and  delights  us.  A  wise 
and  good  old  man  is  one  of  the  holy  and  happy  objects  in  created 
nature.  But  then,  both  his  happiness  and  holiness  belong  to  his 
inner  life,  and  they  have  been  attained  through  a  succession  of 
states,  trials,  temptations,  and  conquests,  which  are  so  many  spirit- 
ual years,  that  have  contributed  to  produce  so  venerable  a  devel- 
opment of  religious  placidity  and  excellence.  And  it  is  to  express 
the  pleasing  aspect  of  tiiis  state,  that  the  life  of  man  is  said  by  the 
Psalmist  to  be  three-score  years  and  ten,  for  the  number  seventy 
denotes  what  is  holy,  and  consequently,  a  state  of  holiness  in 
those  of  whom  it  is  predicated.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this 
signification  of  that  number,  that  there  were  seventy  elders  chosen 
for  Israel,  (Exodus  xxiv.  1 ;)  and  that  the  Lord  also  appointed 
seventy  disciples.  (Luke  x.  1.)  The  propagation  and  establish- 
ment of  the  principles  of  holiness,  were  the  objects  and  ends  of 
the  seventy,  in  both  cases.  When  Peter  inquired,  "  How  oft  shall 
my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive  him  ? "  and  suggested 
"  seven  times  ; "  the  Lord  replied,  "  I  say  not  unto  thee,  until  seven 
times,  but  until  seventy  times  seven,"  (Matt,  xviii.  21,  22 ;)  which 
number  plainly  denotes  that  the  principles  of  charity  are  to  be 
continually  active  under  every  circumstance.  Thus,  the  life  of 
man  is  pronounced  to  be  three-score  years  and  ten,  not  to  express 
the  duration  of  his  natural  life  in  the  world,  but  to  denote  that 
condition  of  spiritual  life  of  which  holiness  may  be  predicated. 
But  it  is  further  said,  "If  by  strength,  they  be  four-score  years, 
yet  is  their  strength  labor  and  sorrow,  for  it  is  soon  cut  off"  and  we 
flee  away."  The  number  eighty,  in  this  connection,  and  because 
it  is  associated  with  the  ideas  of  labor  and  sorrow,  signifies  those 
deep  temptations  by  which  man  is  introduced  into  a  more  intimate 


"  THE   AGE    OF   PROMISE.'"  227 

conjunction  with  the  liord :  labor,  ia  the  temptation  which  the 
understanding  sustains  as  to  its  reception  of  the  truth,  that  all 
wisdom  is  the  Lord's  ;  and  sorrow,  is  the  temptation  which  the  will 
experiences  in  its  admission  of  good,  under  the  pure  acknowledg- 
ment that  it  is  the  Lord's :  but  these  temptations  soon  pass  away 
from  those,  who  have  obtained  the  strength  derivable  from  holi- 
ness, and  they  enter  the  enjoyment  of  more  perfect  liberty,  where- 
fore it  is  written,  that  they  are  "  soon  cut  off  and  we  flee  away." 
Immediately  following  this  passage  the  Psalmist  says,  "  Teach  us 
to  number  our  days  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom ; " 
(Psalm  xc.  12 ;)  which  is  not  to  be  understood  as  the  expression 
of  a  desire  to  ascertain  how  long  we  shall  live,  that  we  may  pre- 
pare ourselves  for  death  just  previous  to  the  event.  No !  The 
Lord  teaches  us  to  number  our  days,  when,  by  the  instructions  of 
his  Word,  we  are  influenced  to  arrange  our  knowledges  of  truth 
and  goodness  for  the  purposes  of  spiritual  life,  for  that  is  the 
application  of  our  hearts  to  wisdom. 

These  considerations,  relating  to  what  the  Scriptures  say  of  the 
number  of  years  which,  we  see,  are  only  apparently  applied  to  the 
age  of  man,  must  tend  to  show  that  the  numbers  and  ages  which 
are  recorded  of  the  so-called  Antediluvian  Patriarchs,  do  not 
express  the  duration  of  the  natural  life  of  individuals,  but  denote 
the  state  and  quality  of  the  respective  branches  of  the  Adamic 
church,  of  which,  we  have  seen  their  names  to  be  significant. 
We  have  only  to  change  our  ideas  from  that  of  the  duration  of  the 
life  of  a  person,  to  that  of  the  condition  of  a  religious  dispensation, 
and  the  whole  difficulty  which  those  incredible  ages  suggest, 
vanishes  at  once.  This  is  a  solution  of  the  matter,  in  perfect 
consistency  with  the  spiritual  purpose  of  the  narrative  as  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  which  is  to  inform  us  of  the  qualities  of  the  spirit- 
ual states  which  distinguished  the  heretical  branches  of  the  most 
ancient  church.  The  years  which  they  lived,  denoted  the  states 
under  which  they  existed ;  by  their  begetting  sons  and  daughters, 
is  signified  the  sentiments  and  aflfections  which  they  engendered ; 
and  by  their  dying,  is  represented  the  extinction  of  such  states. 

It  is  true,  that  as  those  various  heresies  and  doctrines  were 
embraced  by  societies,  they  must  have  been  maintained  for  some 
considerable  time  in  the  world,  most  probably  much  longer  than  it 
was  the  lot  of  any  individual  to  live :  and  therefore,  the  ages 
which  are  assigned  to  them,  might  have  some  foundation  in  his- 
toric truth.     Although  we  do  not  think  this  to  have  been  the  prin- 


228  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

cipal  aim  of  the  narrative,  we  see  no  good  reason  for  rejecting  the 
idea.  It  aide  in  the  reduction  of  the  embarrassments  which  the 
notion  of  individual  longevity  induces.  Opinions  live  in  a  com- 
munity, after  the  parties  who  invented  them  have  passed  away, 
and  4heir  followers  and  proselytes  are,  for  a  long  time,  called  by 
the  names  of  their  founders.  Israel  and  Edom  were  the  appella- 
tions by  which  all  their  descendants  were  distinguished  throughout 
their  generations.  In  this  sense,  Israel,  up  to  the  time  of  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  may  be  said  to  have  lived  upwards  of  eighteen 
centuries.  This  view  produces  no  surprise :  historical  parallels 
abound,  both  in  the  Jewish  and  Christian  churches,  showing  the 
great  ages  to  which  heretical  branches  of  them  have  lived.  The 
Essenes,  among  the  Jews,  sprang  up  at  the  decline  of  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  that  is,  about  five  hundred  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era :  and  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  had  then  existed 
upwards  of  two  centuries,  and  were  conspicuous  and  powerful  as 
sects  in  the  time  of  the  Messiah.  So  also,  in  Christendom ;  the 
two  parties,  Arians  and  Athanasians,  arose  in  the  fourth  century, 
and  now  the  age  of  each  is  nearly  fifteen  hundred  years,  for  they 
are  living  still. 

This  view  suggests  another  consideration.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  it  is  only  Seth,  and  his  descendants,  of  whom  longevity  is 
predicated.  We  do  not  read  of  the  age  of  Cain,  or  any  of  his 
progeny.  Although  the  true  reasons  for  these  circumstances  are 
purely  spiritual,  still  other  probable  grounds,  taking  their  rise  in 
those  reasons,  may  be  assigned.  Seth  being  the  seed  that  was 
given  instead  of  Abel,  and  so  representing  a  church  in  which 
charity  was  to  be  developed,  would  needs  acquire  itself,  and  impart 
to  its  descendants,  a  longer  life  than  what  faith  alone,  or  any  of 
its  offspring,  by  possibility,  could  reach.  Faith  soon  dies  in  that 
mind,  which  is  not  imbued  with  charity.  That  which  depends  upon 
memory  only,  for  its  being,  has  but  a  fleeting  existence  ;  but  that 
which  enters  into  the  affections,  lives  and  long  continues.  What 
a  multitude  of  religious  notions  have  lived  just  long  enough  to 
die ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  principles  which  have  regarded  the 
good  of  mankind,  continue  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
become  venerable  for  their  antiquity.  The  good  of  Christianity 
has  lived  through  various  vicissitudes,  for  eighteen  hundred  years : 
a  thousand  faiths  have  been  framed,  and  pretended  to  be  Christian, 
during  that  period,  and  all  have  perished.  The  circumstance  then, 
of  Seth  being  a  church,  in  which  charity,  as  the  dispensation  of 


THE   CESSATION    OF    PERCEPTION.  229 

Abel,  was  to  be  continued,  suggests  a  reason  why  longevity  is 
predicated  of  his  generation.  Those  branches  may  have  reached 
the  advanced  ages  which  are  recorded  of  them,  though,  as  it  has 
been  said,  we  consider  that  the  chief  design  of  such  numbers  is, 
to  indicate  their  quality  as  to  faith  and  charity  :  and  as  every  one 
of  them  was  in  a  different  state  as  to  these  things,  arising  from 
the  distinction  of  genius  and  temper,  hereditarily  acquired,  there- 
fore, their  ages  were  so  various  ;  numbers,  agreeably  to  the  per- 
ceptions of  the  ancient  times,  being  employed  to  express  them. 
A  more  particular  idea  as  to  what  is  meant  by  the  qualities  of 
churches,  will  appear  in  the  consideration  we  have  to  offer  con- 
cerning Enoch,  and  his  so-called  translation. 

The  quality  of  the  several  churches  which  descended  from 
Adam,  through  the  line  of  Seth,  was  derived  from  the  perceptive 
capability  of  the  people.  The  perception  of  a  church  consists  in 
the  ability  of  its  members  to  perceive,  from  the  Lord,  what  is  good 
and  true  ;  not  so  much  what  is  good  and  true  as  to  ''ivil  society, 
but  what  is  good  and  true  with  respect  to  love  and  faith  towards 
the  Lord.  They  who  have  a  faith  in  truth,  confirmed  by  the  good 
of  life,  may  form  some  idea  of  what  this  ancient  perception  was. 

So  long  as  the  people  called  Seth,  remained  in  their  integrity, 
they  were  enabled  to  know,  by  an  internal  impulse,  whatsoever 
was  good  and  true,  in  reference  to  the  things  of  God,  heaven,  and 
religious  duty.  They  arrived  at  this  result,  it  is  to  be  observed, 
not  by  an  external  way  of  thinking,  but  by  an  internal  dictate  and 
impression.  The  Lord  talked  with  Adam,  which  means  an  inter- 
nal dictate  as  to  what  is  good  and  excellent.  The  other  churches 
which  proceeded  from  him,  experienced  a  similar  perception, 
though,  in  consequence  of  the  fall,  its  force  and  clearness  were 
diminished.  Divisions,  in  the  process  of  time,  took  place,  and  the 
internals  of  the  minds  of  those  who  embraced  impure  sentiments, 
became  successively  closed,  by  the  misdirection  of  their  affections 
to  unworthy  objects,  and  thus,  one  degree  of  perception  perished 
after  another ;  which  circumstances  are  expressed  by  the  recorded 
decease  of  Seth,  Ehos,  Cainan,  and  others. 

These  facts  assiire  us,  that  the  knowledge  of  what  was  genu- 
inely true  and  good,  was  in  the  process  of  passing  away,  and  that 
the  faculty  through  which  it  had  come,  was  being  perverted.  It 
was  during  this  decay  that  Enoch  was  bom,  that  is,  a  branch  of 
the  declining  church,  under  that  name,  came  into  existence.  The 
object  of  that  people  was,  to  prevent  the  dissipation  of  those  re- 
20 


230  ANTEDILtVIAN   HISTORY. 

ligious  knowledges,  which  they  saw  was  threatened.  They  there- 
fore, collected  the  information  which  the  several  preceding  churches 
had  derived  from  perception,  and  which  tradition  had  preserved, 
and  thereupon  they  arranged  them  into  a  doctrinal  and  preceptive 
form ;  so  that  the  truths  of  religion,  which  were  ceasing  to  be 
perceived  by  an  internal  way,  might  be  taught  by  an  external 
way.  The  people  called  Enoch,  saw  the  changes  which  were 
taking  place  in  the  moral  constitution  and  religious  character  of 
society,  and  thereupon  undertook  the  duty  of  correcting  it,  by 
becoming  themselves  instructors.  This  work  was  according  to 
their  genius,  and  therefore,  it  was  identified  with  them.  Hence  it 
is,  that  they  constituted  a  remarkable  point  amidst  the  decline  of 
those  ancient  churches.  Although  the  internal  perceptions  of  men 
were  decaying,  the  truths  which  had  been  perceived,  were,  by 
Enoch,  in  process  of  being  preserved.  It  was  the  collection  of 
these  truths  into  rules  of  life,  and  teaching  them,  which  constituted 
the  delight  of  that  branch  of  the  declining  church,  called  Enoch. 
Hence  the  name  means  to  instruct  and  discipline  ;  and,  therefore, 
also,  it  is  that  we  find  the  apostle  speaking  of  this  Enoch,  the 
seventh  from  Adam,  as  prophesying,*  that  is,  teaching.  Every 
one  acquainted  with  biblical  literature,  is  awai-e  of  the  great  inter- 
est which  has,  upon  several  occasions,  been  attached  by  scholars 
to  an  Apocryphal  Book  of  Enoch,  found  in  the  Abyssinian  version 
of  the  Scriptures,  several  copies  of  which  have  been  brought  to' 
Europe  by  oriental  travellers.  How  far  this  book  possesses  the 
antiquity  or  authority  which  its  name  implies,  cannot  be  now  de- 
termined, though  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  being  a  production 
long  anterior  to  Christianity :  but  the  very  circumstance  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  document,  proves  that  a  tradition  must  have 
prevailed  down  to  the  time  of  its  production,  that  Enoch  was 
distinguished  by  those  characteristics  which  we  have  stated.    And 

*  Jude  14.  "  In  several  of  the  Fathers,  mention  is  made  of  Enoch  as 
an  author,  not  only  of  a  prophetic  writing,  but  of  various  productions. 
The  Book  of  Enoch  is  alluded  to  by  Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  Tertullian,  Origen,  Augustine,  Jerome,  Hilary,  and  Euse- 
bius."  It  seems  to  have  been  known  to  them  through  a  Greek  trans- 
lation, the  original  language  in  which  it  was  composed  being  either 
Hebrew  or  Chaldee  ;  the  Ethiopic  version,  discovered  in  Abyssinia, 
appears  to  have  been  made  from  the  Greek,  and  no*  from  the  original.  — 
See  an  interesting  article  on  this  subject  by  the  Rev^.S.  Davidson,  LL.D., 
Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  Oriental  Languages,  in  the  Lancashire 
Independent  College,  in  Kitto's  Bib.  Cyclopedia. 


Enoch's  "  translation."  231 

this  is  why  he  is  said  to  have  "  walked  with  God  ; "  for  it  is  well 
known,  that  to  walk  with  God  means  to  live  according  to  his  pre- 
cepts. Truth  is  the  way  which  God  has  laid  down  for  men  to 
walk  in ;  it  is  the  high  road  which  leads  to  his  kingdom :  He  is 
Himself,  this  way ;  indeed  he  says  so,  consequently  the  men  who 
walk  in  it,  also  walk  with  God.  (John  xiv.  6.)  This,  then,  was 
a  distinguished  feature  of  religion  amon^  the  people  called  Enoch. 
The  fact  is  twice  stated,  and,  in  the  latter  case,  there  is  added 
this  remarkable  clause,  "  He  was  not,  for  God  took  him."  (Gen. 
V.  22  &  24.)  This  is  popularly  understood  to  mean  that  he  was 
taken  to  heaven,  without  the  experience  of  natural  death ;  not  that 
the  sentence  contains  such  an  idea,  for  the  very  same  phrases 
occur  respecting  the  supposed  death  of  Joseph,  and  also,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  death  of  Rachel's  children :  (Gen.  xlii.  36  ;  Jer.  xxxi. 
15  ;)  but  it  is  founded  on  the  statement  of  the  apostle,  who  says, 
"  By  faith  Enoch  was  translated,  that  he  should  not  see  death." 
(Heb.  xi.  5.)  But,  by  translation^  he  must  have  meant  a  change 
of  state,  disposition,  or  bent  of  mind,  (for  he  is  treating  of  the 
effects  of  faith,)  and  not  the  removal  of  an  individual  with  his 
body,  into  a  place  unfitted  for  its  existence ;  for  that  body,  as  flesh 
and  blood,  he  has  said,  cannot  inlierit  the  kingdom  of  God.  (1 
Cor.  XV.  50.)  The  view,  therefore,  which  ought  to  be  taken  of  the 
term  translation,  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  the  apostle 
elsoAvhere  expresses  by  the  word  transform^  as  when  he  says,  "  Be 
ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove 
what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God."  (Rom. 
xii.  2.)  And  by  Enoch's  not  seeing  death,  is  denoted,  that  he  did 
not  experience  condemnation.  How  should  he,  if  he  walked  with 
God  ?  the  character  of  his  faith  prevented  it !  The  original  de- 
scription is,  "  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him : "  where,  by  the  sen- 
tence, "  he  was  not,"  is  simply  meant  that  the  doctrines  of  truth, 
which  were  collected  by  the  people  called  Enoch,  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  posterity,  were  not  theirs ;  nothing  of  their  mind  was  in 
them ;  they  were  divine  things,  which  spoke  of  the  glory  of  God, 
and  were  adapted  to  promote  the  intelligence  of  the  people  :  and, 
by  the  phrase,  "  God  took  him,"  is  plainly  meant  that  the  truths, 
so  collected,  were  preserved  by  Divine  Providence,  for  the  use 
and  edification  of  all  future  conditions  of  the  church.  The  cor- 
rectness of  this  view  of  the  case,  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  all 
subsequent  ages,  conditions,  and  diversities  of  the  actual  church 
of  God,  have  been  instructed  by  means  of  documents  embodying 
t^^  rules,  teachings,  commands,  and  promises  of  Divine  truth. 


232  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  CORRUPTIONS   OF  THE  ANTEDILUVIAN  WORLD  —  THE  SONS   OP  GOD 
TAKING  TO  THEMSELVES   WIVES   OF  THE  DAUGHTERS   OF  MEN. 

**  On  different  senses  diflFerent  objects  strike, 
Hence  different  passions  more  or  less  inflame, 
As  strong  or  weak  the  organs  of  the  frame  : 
And  hence  one  master-passion  in  the  breast, 
Like  Aaron's  serpent,  swallows  up  the  rest." 

Pope's  Essay  on  Man. 

The  moral  and  intellectual  corruptions  of  the  most  ancient 
people,  are  historical  circumstances,  easily  to  be  perceived,  as  a 
general  idea,  even  though  the  narrative  expressing  them  is  written 
in  language  of  a  purely  figurative  character ;  general  truths,  in 
the  Scriptures,  frequently  stand  out,  very  conspicuously,  amid  the 
symbolical  details  in  which  they  are  embodied.  Still,  as  such, 
they  are  surrounded  with  haze  and  mist,  and  they  will  remain  so, 
so  long  as  the  mind  rests  in  the  generality  merely.  General  ideas 
are  comparatively  obscure,  like  distant  objects  in  the  twilight  of 
the  morning ;  they  become  clear  only  as  particular  truths  shine  in 
upon  them,  and  afford  lucidity  for  the  development  of  their  forms. 
These  are  as  beams  from  the  rising  sun,  successively  breaking  in 
upon  the  uncertain  outline  of  objects  in  the  western  vista,  reveal- 
ing to  us  their  nature,  their  forms,  their  colors,  and  all  their  love- 
liness. 

Although  the  first  few  verses  of  the  sixth  chapter  of  Genesis, 
suggest  a  general  idea  concerning  the  corruptions  of  the  ancient 
world  ;  still,  it  is  evident,  that  this  general  idea,  if  we  do  not  care- 
fully examine  the  sentences  through  which  that  impression  may 
have  been  derived,  Avill  be  more  or  less  uncertain.  The  idea  of 
corruption,  may,  indeed,  not  pass  away ;  but  the  nature  of  it,  how 
it  was  instigated,  and  why  it  should  have  produced  results  that 
wqre  never  to  occur  again,  remain  unravelled ;  and  so,  onc^f  the 
great  objects  of  revelation,  which  is  to  impart  clear  and  decisive 
thoughts  on  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats,  is  not  obtained. 

General  ideas,  not  grounded  upon  particular  information,  are 
not  only  imperfect,  but  liable  to  be  lost.  They  are  like  a  candle 
introduced  into  a  murky  atmosphere,  the  light  of  which  grows 
dim,  and  so  is  in  danger  of  being  extinguished.  We  cannot  be 
certain  that  our  general  ideas  are  true,  unless  we  have  been  care- 
ful to  form  them  on  the  consideration  of  particular  and  specific 


ON    GENERAL    AND   PARTICULAR    IDEAS.  233 

knowledges :  just  in  the  same  way  that  the  general  notion  of  being 
a  sinner,  is  a  very  undefined  notion,  so  long  as  it  remains  unfounded 
on  the  fact  and  consciousness  of  having  perpetrated  particular  sins. 
Most  persons  will  freely  acknowledge  themselves  to  be  sinners  in 
a  general  sense,  but  how  few  will  confess  to  the  guilt  of  partic- 
ular transgression !  The  general  assertion  of  being  a  sinner,  is  a 
mere  word,  which  has  a  meaning  in  the  faith  of  the  utterer,  no 
farther  than  he  has  searched  out  his  particular  sins.  Again,  how 
common  is  it  for  men  to  acquire  a  general  prejudice,  for  or  against 
certain  things,  without  having  furnished  themselves  with  any  par- 
ticular reasons  for  the  adoption  of  it.  This  is  found  to  operate, 
not  only  with  respect  to  persons  and  circumstances  in  the  world, 
but  likewise,  in  reference  to  the  statements  and  purposes  of  reve- 
lation. Some  men  are  well  known  to  entertain  certain  general 
ideas  about  a  variety  of  subjects,  mentioned  in  the  Word  of  God, 
although  they  may  have  never  candidly  examined  the  particular 
evidences  on  which  they  rest,  or  the  conclusions  to  which  they 
conduce.  For  instance :  every  one  has  a  general  idea,  that  the 
antediluvian  people  became  exceedingly  corrupt,  but  how  few  are 
they,  who  have  any  particular  idea  of  the  wickedness  into  which 
they  fell,  although  it  is  evident,  that  it  must  have  been  of  a  very 
peculiar  nature,  or  it  could  not  have  brought  about  so  terrible  a 
result  as  it  is  related  to  have  done :  again,  most  persons  have 
some  general  idea  that  the  catastrophe  called  the  flood,  was  an 
overflow  of  water  and  a  drowning  of  the  people  ;  but,  whensoever 
the  particulars  of  science  and  theology  are  brought  to  bear  upon 
this  general  notion,  the  whole  matter  becomes  a  dim  and  doubtful 
thing,  so  that,  in  order  to  retain  any  faith  in  the  occurrence,  as 
popularly  understood,  it  is  found  requisite  to  refer  the  matter  to 
Omnipotence.  Of  course,  when  false  conceptions  of  this  divine 
attribute  are  brought  into  a  subject,  the  right  activities  of  reason 
will  go  out  of  it.  Omnipotence  cannot  be  without  its  laws  of 
order,  nor  can  God  transgress  them. 

The  importance  of  grounding  our  general  ideas  of  theological 
truth  upon  particular  conceptions  of  it,  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  the  intellectual  well-being  of  the  church.  It  is  in  consequence 
of  this  duty  not  having  been  sufficiently  attended  to,  that  so  many 
of  the  leading  doctrines  of  popular  Christianity  are  so  full  of  per- 
plexities. Take  for  example,  the  general  proposition  that  there  is 
a  Divine  I'rinity  in  God :  this,  as  a  general  proposition,  presents 
no  difficulties,  but  the  moment  we  begin  to  inquire  into  those  par- 
20* 


234  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

ticular  notions,  of  which  that  trinity  is  popularly  said  to  consist, 
the  subject  becomes  dark,  and  its  advocates  are  compelled  to  wrap 
it  up  in  the  cloak  of  wonderment  and  mystery !  The  same  may 
be  said  of  the  doctrines  of  the  atonement,  mediation,  the  resurrec- 
tion, and  several  other  tenets,  as  they  are  commonly  understood. 
We  refer  to  these  subjects,  merely  to  illustrate  the  distinction 
which  may  exist  between  the  general  and  particular  ideas  of  a 
subject,  and  to  suggest  that  all  general  ideas,  to  be  salutary  and 
useful,  must  take  their  rise  from  such  as  are  clear  and  sensible  in 
particulars  :  it  is  only  when  this  is  the  case,  that  the  mass  of  truth 
is  made  up  of  coherent  parts,  and  each  contributes  its  light  and 
strength  to  increase  the  power  and  brilliancy  of  the  whole. 

The  corruptions  of  the  antediluvian  church,  viewed  under  a 
general  idea,  were  similar  to  those  which  have  taken  place  with 
the  churches  of  after-times.  It  rejected  the  goods  of  charity  and 
perverted  the  truths  of  faith,  as  was  done  by  the  Jewish  church, 
before  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  and,  also,  as  He  predicted  would  be 
the  case  with  that  which  he  came  to  establish.  (See  xxiv.  Matt. 
throughout.)  But  there  was  a  peculiarity  about  the  genius  and 
character  of  the  antediluvian  people,  which  did  not  prevail  in 
after-times,  and  this  gave  to  their  corruptions  a  peculiar  enormity. 
In  the  possession  of  Eden  they  enjoyed  a  state  of  perception ;  by 
this  they  intuitively,  and  from  an  impulsive  love  of  goodness,  were 
immediately  enabled  to  comprehend  the  ideas  and  purposes  of 
faith.  In  consequence  of  their  internal  eminence,  they  could 
acquire  the  knowledges  and  delights  of  religious  principles,  by  an 
influx  from  the  Lord  :  whereas,  the  people  of  after-times  have  had 
to  procure  those  things  by  external  teachings,  the  difficulties  of 
receiving  which,  have  been  increased  by  the  evil  inclinations 
which  have  been  transmitted  to  them  by  the  transgressions  of 
their  progenitors.  They,  who,  by  actual  evils,  render  them  infixed 
principles  of  their  nature,  must  needs  transmit  the  seeds  thereof 
to  their  immediate  descendants.  The  parent  can  only  communi- 
cate to  his  offspring  that  which  he  himself  possesses.  Posterity 
is  affected  with  his  vices  or  benefitted  by  his  virtues,  so  far  as  he 
makes  them  his  own  by  actual  life.  Experience  proves  the  action 
of  this  law,  and  revelation  declares  it.  (Exod.  xx.  5,  6.  With  the 
early  posterity  of  the  Adamic  people,  evils  were  not  so  deeply 
rooted  as  they  afterwards  became  ;  and  therefore,  those  internal 
influences  from  the  Lord,  by  which  their  ancestors  had  been  raise '^ 
to  the  summit  of  religious  intelligence  and  enjoyment,  were  not 


PECULIARITY  OF  THE  ADAMIC  PEOPLE.        235 

suddenly  destroyed :  that  was  a  progressive  work,  and  it  was  after- 
wards effected.  Now,  as  no  other  than  an  internal  way  had  yet 
been  opened  out  in  man,  for  the  Lord's  approach  to  him,  it  is  plain, 
that  whenever  that  channel  should  be  closed,  mankind  would  be 
left  without  a  guide ;  and  consequently,  they  would  rush,  without 
a  check,  into  every  enormity,  and  guilt  would  necessarily  bring 
about  their  destruction.  But  here  we  are  anticipating  an  argu- 
ment we  shall  have  again  to  raise.  The  circumstances  of  the 
Adamic  church  having  been  once  distinguished  by  the  most  ex- 
alted purity,  and,  that  in  successive  generations,  the  people  fell 
from  their  elevated  condition  into  the  fiercest  wickedness,  show 
that  it  was  essentially  different  from  that  of  any  other  church 
which  has  since  been  planted.  Every  other  has  had  its  com- 
mencement with  mankind  in  a  state  of  evil ;  this  was  not  the 
condition  of  the  primeval  people  of  the  Adamic  church ;  conse- 
quently, when  they  fell,  it  was  from  a  greater  height  than  it  has 
been  possible  for  any  dispensation  since  to  do,  and  therefore  it 
was,  that  they  entailed,  in  that  descent,  so  disastrous  a  calamity. 
It  is  a  law  that,  "  Unto  whomsoever  much  is  given,  of  him  shall 
be  much  required."  There  is  a  propriety  and  reasonableness 
about  this  scriptural  enactment,  which  every  one  may  see.  It  is 
also  a  law,  that  the  "  servant  which  knew  his  Lord's  will,  and 
prepared  not  himself,  neither  did  according  to  his  will,  shall  be 
beaten  witli  many  stripes;"  (Luke  xii.  47,  48;)  which  plainly 
means,  that  if  those  fall,  who  have  had  superior  advantages,  they 
will  sink  into  deeper  degradation  than  those,  who  may  not  have 
been  so  favorably  circumstanced.  The  opposite  of  tlie  highest 
good  is  the  deepest  evil :  the  higher  the  summit  is  from  which 
man  falls,  the  more  certain,  —  the  more  terrible  becomes  his 
destruction.  Hence,  the  fall  of  the  Adamic  church  was  so  dread- 
ful in  its  results  !  It  was  effected  by  the  successive  shutting  out 
of  good  and  truth  from  tlieir  affections  and  thoughts,  until,  at  last, 
both  their  wills  and  understandings  were  closed  against  their 
admission.  Hereupon,  they  became  infested  with  all  sorts  of 
abominable  persuasions,  from  which  they  were  not  afterwards 
willing  to  recede.  "  The  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the 
earth,  and  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only 
evil  continually : "  (Gen.  vi.  5 :)  therefore,  whatsoever  fell  into  tlieir 
ideas,  was,  by  the  cupidity  of  their  self-love,  converted  into  a 
means  of  lust,  and  finally,  they  supposed  themselves  to  be  as 
gods :  this  was  the  state  indicated  by  the  delusion  of  the  serpent, 


236 


ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 


who,  in  effecting  his  seductions,  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  Your 
eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods."  (Gen.  iii.  5.) 
Evil  loves  and  false  persuasions  took  possession  of  their  minds, 
and  became  the  sole  influence  in  their  conduct.  "  The  earth  was 
corrupt  before  God  ;  and  the  earth  was  filled  with  violence.  And 
God  looked  upon  the  earth,  and  behold,  it  was  corrupt ;  for  all 
flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth."  (Gen.  vi.  11,  12.) 
While  this  account,  at  first  sight,  furnishes  us  with  a  general  idea 
of  the  enormity  of  those  times,  the  considerations  adduced,  present 
us  with  a  more  particular  idea  concerning  the  nature  and  extent 
of  it.  The  genius  of  the  people  being  peculiar,  arising  from  the 
intimate  association  of  their  wills  and  understandings,  became 
admissive  of  states  of  evil,  against  the  entrance  of  which,  poster- 
ity was  to  be  secured.  With  the  people  called  Noah,  it  was  pro- 
vided by  the  Lord,  that  there  should  be  some  few  remains  of 
innocence  and  knowledge,  stored  up  in  the  interiors  of  their 
minds,  as  planes,  upon  which  the  divine  influence  might  operate 
for  the  production  of  another  church,  to  effect  the  restoration  of 
those  who  fall,  and  so  to  become  the  groundwork  of  their  regen- 
eration :  this,  we  believe,  to  be  signified  by  the  promise,  "  Yet  his 
days  shall  be  a  hundred  and  twenty  years."  It  was  seen  in  a 
preceding  chapter,  that  this  statement  had  no  reference  to  the  age 
of  man :  and  we  here  observe,  that  it  expresses  the  state  of  remains 
concerning  faith,  which  should  be  provided  for  in  subsequent  gen- 
erations of  men.  Remains  are  all  those  true  ideas  and  good  im- 
pressions, which  are  derived  from  the  Lord's  Word,  and  introduced 
into  man's  memory  during  the  periods  of  his  infancy  and  child- 
hood ;  and  also,  of  all  those  states  which  are  derived  therefrom, 
such  as  the  states  of  innocence  from  infancy,  states  of  love  to- 
wards parents,  relations,  instructors,  and  friends,  states  of  kind- 
ness towards  their  neighbor,  and  of  tenderness  towards  the  poor 
and  needy.  These  states,  with  the  sentiments  and  feelings  con- 
nected with  them,  are  now  preserved  in  the  internal  man,  by  the 
Lord,  and  carefully  separated  from  all  that  is  evil  and  false. 
Every  one  is  aware  that  such  things  remain  with  him,  notwith- 
standing the  evils  into  which  he  may  have  fallen ;  and,  in  that 
circumstance,  he  has  what  is  promised  by  his  "  days  being  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years."  For,  by  these  remnins,  man  has  the 
orderly  groundwork  for  reflecting  upon  what  is  good  and  true, 
and  so  to  think  and  reason  upon  religious  tilings :  for  they  are 
among  the  first  receptacles  of  celestial  and  spiritual  life,  in  fallen 


NUMBERS    TWELVE    AND   TEN.  237 

The  reason  why  this  number  denotes  remains,  can  only  be  seen 
by  referring  to  the  significations  of  twelve  and  ten,  by  the  multi- 
plication of  which  that  number  is  obtained.  These  tAvo  numbers 
very  frequently  occur  in  the  Scriptures,  and  they  are  connected 
with  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  circumstances  mentioned 
therein.  It  will  be  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  notice,  in  respect 
to  the  number  twelve,  a  few  circumstances  in  Avhich  it  occurs,  and 
in  reference  to  the  number  ten,  the  Decalogue  and  tithings.  It 
must  be  plain  to  every  one  who  will  carefully  study  the  use  of  those 
numbers  in  the  Word,  that  they  involve  a  meaning  different  from 
what  they  literally  express.  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  at  this,  for 
it  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  our  own  day,  to  hear  persons,  in  cer- 
tain kinds  of  conversation,  speak  of  dozens  and  tens,  without  in- 
tending thereby  to  express  what  is  numerically  correct,  but  chiefly 
to  indicate  some  general  idea.  The  numbers  mentioned  in  the 
Scriptures,  were  selected  for  the  sake  of  the  representation  they 
were  intended  to  sustain,  and  in  no  case  are  they  to  be  considered 
accidental  or  indifferent. 

By  twelve  is  signified,  all  things  belonging  to  love,  and  faith 
grounded  therein.  It  was  on  this  account  that  Aaron's  breast- 
plate had  twelve  precious  stones,  (Exodus  xxviii.  21 ;)  and  the  gen- 
uine church  has  twelve  foundations  and  twelve  gates.  (Rev.  xxi. 
14  -  21.)  It  was  for  the  same  reason  that  there  were  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel,  and  twelve  apostles  ;  also,  that  Jesus,  when  twelve  years 
old,  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  sat  with  the  doctors  in  the  temple,  and 
aroused  their  astonishment  at  his  understanding  and  answers.* 

But  by  ten  is  denoted  remains.  The  Decalogue  is  so  named, 
because  the  commandments  of  the  moral  law  are  called  the  "  ten 
words : "  f  the  sentiments  therein  contained  were  not  promulgated 
for  the  first  time  when  revealed  to  Moses :  they  were  the  holy 

*  Luke  ii.  42-47.  A  more  enlarged  view  of  the  ground  on  which, 
numbers  have  a  spiritual  signification,  with  ample  illustrations,  is  fur- 
nished in  an  interesting  little  work,  "  A  Key  to  the  Spiritual  Signijication 
of  Numbers,  Weights,  and  Measures,  hy  the  late  Rev.  R.  Hindmarsh." 

f  Exodus  xxxiv.  28,  Marginal  Reading.  These  "words,"  or  com- 
mandments, are  not  numerically  divided  in  the  Scriptures  ;  nor  are  they 
called  ten,  for  a  numerical  purpose,  if  so,  it  would  have  been  indicated  in 
the  letter  ;  whereas,  no  one  can  say  on  such  authority,  which  is,  Xhe  Jirst, 
second,  and  so  on.  They  have  been  divided,  so  as  to  make  that  number, 
by  Biblical  critics ;  and  the  convenience  thus  afforded,  has  led  to  the 
reception  of  a  division  by  the  church  from  a  very  early  period.  But  the 
mode  of  division  has  not  been  uniform.     Most  of  "  the  fathers  "  have 


238  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

truths  which  remained^  of  a  more  ancient  dispensation ;  for  every 
one  may  see  that  the  evils  therein  forbidden  were  known  to  be  so, 
by  the  Israelites  and  other  nations,  before  they  were  delivered 
upon  Mount  Sinai :  but,  as  such  knowledges  remained  without  the 
source  of  them  being  acknowledged,  they  were  re-enacted,  in  a 
miraculous  manner  before  the  sons  of  Jacob,  in  order  to  signify 
their  divine  origination.  Hence,  it  is  plain,  that  ten,  denotes  re- 
mains in  general.  This  idea  explains  why  Abram  is  said  to  have 
given  Melchisedeck  "  tithes  of  all : "  (Gen.  xiv.  20 :)  and  also,  why 
it  was  directed  that  a  tenth  part  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  should 
be  offered  to  the  Lord,  and  by  him  was  given  to  Aaron  and  the 
Levites.  (Num.  xviii.  24  -  28 ;  Deut.  xiv.  22.)  These  tenths  rep- 
resented what  remained  of  truth  and  good  among  the  Israelitish 
church,  and  consequently,  that  they  belonged  to  the  Lord,  and 
therefore,  it  is  written,  "  The  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord." 
(Lev.  xxvii.  32.) 

From  these  significations  of  twelve  and  ten,  we  may  perceive 
that  the  number  "  a  hundred  and  twenty,"  which  results  from  their 
multiplication,  and  is  said  to  be  the  day  of  the  years  of  man,  de- 
note the  remains  of  truth  and  good,  for  the  security  of  which  the 
Lord  would  provide,  in  the  future  generations  of  our  race.  From 
these  considerations  we  learn,  that  numbers  in  the  Word,  are  to 
be  understood  altogether  abstractedly  from  the  sense  of  the  letter, 
they  being  inserted  only  to  carry  on  the  historical  series,  which  is 
in  the  literal  sense. 

The  corruptions  of  the  people,  up  to  the  period  of  this  announce- 
ment, were  of  a  kind  that  never  existed,  either  before  or  since. 
That  a  provision  was  to  be  made  against  their  recurrence,  by 
means  of  a  change  which  was  to  be  induced  upon  the  subsequent 
condition  of  mankind,  is  declared  by  the  Lord,  where  he  said  to 

written  upon  this  subject:  while  they  all  concur  that  there  should  be  ten, 
differences  of  opinion  exist  as  to  where  the  separations  should  be  made, 
particularly  concerning  those  which  are  recorded  from  the  first  to  the 
twelfth  verse,  and  at  the  seventeenth  verse,  of  the  twentieth  chapter  of 
Exodus.  The  division  adopted  by  the  Greek,  Reformed,  and  Anglican 
Churches,  is  that  of  Origen's,  which  places  five  upon  each  table,  making 
the  fifth  upon  the  first  table  to  be,  "  Honor  thy  father  and  mother,"  &c. 
Of  course  there  is  no  divine  authority  for  such  an  arrangement,  and  some 
have  doubted  whether  calling  them  first,  second,  and  so  on,  is  not  an 
addition  to  the  Word,  which  ought  not  to  be  made.  Puilo-Jud.eus,  iu 
his  De  Decalofjo,  supposes  that  they  were  called  the  Decalogue,  to  denote 
their  perfection,  ten  being  considered  the  most  perfect  number.  The  true 
reason  is  indicated  above. 


'new  state  to  be  induced  in  man.  239 

Noah,  "  Behold,  I  establish  my  covenant  with  you,  and  with  your 
seed  after  you  —  neither  shall  all  flesh  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the 
waters  of  a*  flood ;  neither  shall  there  any  more  be  a  flood  to 
destroy  the  earth."  (Gen.  ix.  9-11.)  The  couenani,  thus  declared 
to  have  been  made,  plainly  shows  that  a  new  state  must  have  been 
induced  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  received  it.  A  covenant  is 
an  agreement  between  two,  with  the  conditions  of  which  they  are 
mutually  satisfied.  It  is  true,  that  in  the  covenants  which  the 
Lord  effects  with  men.  He  alone  offfers  the  conditions  ;  the  reason 
is,  because  He  can  present  nothing  but  what  is  right  and  just : 
those  who  accept  the  Divine  proposition  are  favorably  disposed  to 
what  is  good.  His  covenants,  therefore,  relate  to  internal  and 
spiritual  things,  and  consequently,  to  human  regeneration,  and  for 
this,  it  is  obvious,  that  in  the  case  before  us,  a  new  mental  state 
must  have  been  provided.  And  the  promise,  that  there  should  not 
any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the  earth,  certainly  indicates  that 
this  new  state  was  ever  afterwards  to  act,  as  a  preventive  against 
the  return  of  such  a  calamity. 

But  this  leads  us  to  ask,  what  it  was  which  constituted  this 
peculiar  mental  characteristic  of  the  antediluvians  ?  because, 
without  some  idea  of  that  distinction,  we  must  be  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  the  circumstance  of  their  remaiiis  having  perished  in 
their  corruptions,  with  the  exception  of  those  few  who  were  pre- 
served with  Noah,  to  become  the  ground- work  of  another  dispen- 
sation. In  reference  to  this  point,  it  was  shown,  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  treating  of  the  occupation  and  enjoyments  of  Eden,  that 
love  was  the  reigning  principle  of  their  character,  and  that  all 
their  wisdom  arose  therefrom  ;  their  wills  and  understandings  were 
not  two  but  one  faculty,  so  that  in  whatever  direction  their  affec- 
tions were  placed,  their  intellect  took  the  same  course ;  their 
thoughts  and  affections  acted  in  unity.  That  was  their  genius : 
each  part  of  their  minds  cohered  with  the  other,  and  they  formed 
a  one.  This  mental  characteristic,  when  employed  in  the  service 
of  God,  led  to  the  highest  results  in  religious  attainment;  but 
when  they  fell,  they  also  carried  this  genius  with  them  into  their 
corruptions.  When  they  began  to  love  what  was  evil,  they  also 
began  to  think  what  was  false,  and  this  in  every  act  This  state 
may  be  compared  to  a  glutinous  substance,  so,  that  when  any 
goods  or  truths  came  into  contact  with  it,  they  were  ensnared  and 
could  not  be  separated :  consequently,  remains,  with  the  antedilu- 
vians, instead  of  being  stored  up  and  preserved  as  the  plane  for 


240  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

subsequent  regeneration,  as  is  now  the  case,  were  profaned,  their 
profanation  consisting  in  this,  that  they  had  received  truth  and 
good  in  faith  and  heart,  and  afterwards  in  faith  and  heart  denied 
them.  Hence,  in  their  last  posterity,  it  was  productive  of  those 
dire  persuasions,  by  which  all  spiritual  good  and  truth  were  over- 
whelmed, and  through  which  they  became  extinct:  for  a  man, 
when  his  remains  are  destroyed,  has  nothing  left  through  which 
the  Lord  can  reach  and  save  him. 

Such  was  the  mental  constitution,  or  genius,  of  those  ancient 
people,  but  it  perished  with  them  ;  for  the  Lord  said,  "  All  flesh 
shall  not  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood."  But  why  ? 
Clearly  because  a  new  state  was  to  be  provided,  through  which  it 
was  to  be  prevented.  But  in  what  was  this  new  state  to  consist  ? 
There  can  be  little  doubt  but  what  it  was  to  consist,  in  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  intellectual  principle  from  the  will ;  so  that  man 
might,  by  the  intellectual  principle,  be  enabled  to  know  what  is 
true  and  good,  notwithstanding  the  entire  corruption  of  his  will ; 
and  thereby,  to  provide  for  the  safe  custody  of  his  remains.  Every 
one's  experience  proves  to  him,  that  this  is  now  the  condition  of 
man :  every  branch  of  the  authentic  history  of  our  race,  from  the 
period  of  the  flood,  contributed  proofs  of  this  fact.  If  a  man  love 
an  evil,  and  pursue  it,  his  understanding  tells  him  of  the  iniquity. 
The  will  may,  and  it  does,  strive  to  induce  the  understanding  to 
favor  its  impurities,  and,  to  some  extent,  it  may  exceed  ;  but  there 
are  certain  states  implanted  during  the  innocence  of  youth,  which 
cannot  be  obliterated.  The  greatest  criminals  are  not  found 
insensible  to  every  virtue :  they  are  known  to  feel  acutely,  on 
being  reminded  of  the  better  states  of  their  early  days.  The  idea 
that  such  states  are  favorable  to  good,  cannot  perish.  In  separating 
the  intellectual  faculty  from  the  will,  the  Lord  has  provided  a 
means  for  the  access  of  Himself  to  the  human  race,  which  now, 
cannot  be  entirely  closed  by  man,  during  his  residence  below ; 
and  thus,  he  has  mercifully  erected  a  barrier  against  the  recur- 
rence of  such  an  inundation  of  false  persuasions,  grounded  in 
evil  loves,  as  that  which  prevailed  in  the  last  days  of  the  antedi- 
luvian world,  and  which  led  to  the  destruction  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  narrative  of  Moses,  furnishes  us  with  two  particulars  con- 
cerning the  enormities  in  religion,  which  prevailed  in  those  times. 
The  first,  with  which  we  shall  close  this  chapter,  is  thus  related : 
"  It  came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to  multiply  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  daughters  were  born  unto  them,  that  the  sons  of  God 


WHAT  THE  SONS  OF  GOD  HAVE  BEEN  CONSIDERED.  241 

saw  the  daughters  of  men  that  they  were  fair ;  and  they  took  them 
wives  of  all  which  they  chose."  (Gen.  vi.  1,  2.)  This  is  certainly 
intended  to  express  some  atrocity,  which,  among  others,  brought 
about  the  catastrophe  of  the  flood.  But  what  was  the  nature  of 
it  ?  Daughters  were  born  to  men,  long  before  the  chronological 
era,  which  the  narrative  is  supposed  to  conteniplate.  Adam  and 
Seth,  Enos  and  Cainan,  with  several  others,  are  stated  to  have 
begotten  sons  and  daughters  many  hundreds  of , years  before,  this 
period.  (Gen.  v.  4-10.)  The  birth  of  daughters,  therefore,  was 
no  new  thing  when  men  began  to  multiply.  This,  then,  cannot  be 
recorded  to  indicate  what  the  letter  seems  to  express.  On  such 
a  supposition,  the  narrative  will  present  no  ordinary  difficulties. 
These  daughters  are  said  to  have  been  fair :  (Heb.  good :)  but, 
surely,  there  was  nothing  very  sinful  in  such  a  circumstance.  It 
is  not  very  reasonable  to  identify  crime  with  beauty.  We  can 
conceive  how  beauty  may  lead  to  vanity  and  evil,  in  a  certain 
class  of  characters,  but  not  how  it  can  be  an  evil  in  itself:  and  the 
statement  before  us  merely  announces,  what  is  conceded  to  be  the 
natural  inheritance  of  the  sex,  namely,  that  they  were,  at  least, 
physically,  adapted  to  become  objects  of  affection.  They  were 
so  considered  by  the  "  sons  of  God  ; "  and  whatever  popular  idea 
may  be  attached  to  this  phrase,  there  is  no  ground  for  denying  that 
they  were  tolerable  judges  of  such  a  matter.  If  the  daughters 
of  men  were  fair  in  their  eyes,  that  is  good  reason  to  presume  that 
they  really  were  so. 

But  what  idea  is  the  phrase  "  sons  of  God,"  intended  to  express  ? 
The  literal  sense  has  furnished,  among  others,  the  following 
opinions  on  the  subject ;  first,  that  they  were  angels.  Now,  if  we 
so  consider  them,  then  the  circumstance  of  their  having  taken  to 
themselves  wives  of  the  daughters  of  men,  is  not  very  easily  com- 
prehended. We  do  not  see  how  purely  spiritual  beings,  could  fall 
in  love  with  women,  so  long  as  they  existed  in  the  natural  world : 
neither  do  we  perceive  how  women  could  reciprocate  an  affection 
for  husbands,  who,  for  the  want  of  corporeity,  could  not  be  seen 
or  touched.  But  as  this  idea  of  "  the  sons  of  God  "  is  not  gene- 
rally insisted  on,  we  need  not  expose  its  consequences  further. 
Another  idea  which  the  phrase  has  been  thought  to  signify,  is,  that 
they  were  good  men*   The  faithful  and  obedient  are  sometimes  so 

*  This  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  A.  Clarke,  who  says,  "  they  were  such  as 
were,  according  to  our  Lord's  doctrine,  bo7'n  again  from  above,  and  made 
children  of  God  by  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 
21 


242  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

called  in  the  Scriptures.  Of  the  Lord  it  is  said,  to  "  as  many  as 
received  Hun,  to  them  gave  He  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God, 
even  to  them  that  believe  in  His  name."  (John  i.  12.)  But  if  this 
is  the  meaning"  of  the  phrase,  of  what  enormity  were  they  guilty  ? 
Surely,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  any  evil  in  the  circumstance  of  a 
good  man  choosing  a  fair  woman  for  his  wife.  Marriage  is  one 
of  the  institutions  of  God  Himself,  and  human  choice  in  such  a 
matter,  is  one  of  the  ingredients  requisite  to  contribute  to  the 
happiness  of  which  it  is  productive.  A  good  man  is  not  prohibited 
from  marriage,  or  deprived  from  choice  in  such  an  affair ;  and  yet, 
the  narrative  before  us  presents  the  circumstance,  as  having  been 
one  of  the  proximate  causes  which  hurried  on  the  disaster  of  the 
flood !  But  where  shall  we  find  those  good  men,  of  which  the 
phrase,  "  sons  of  God,"  is  considered  to  be  descriptive  ?  It  is 
true,  indeed,  that  "  Noah  found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord : " 
that  "  he  was  a  just  man  and  perfect  in  his  generations."  (Gen. 
vi.  8,  9.)  But  this  is  not  the  character  which  the  "  sons  of  God  " 
are  contemplated  to  have  sustained  ;  they  were  guilty  of  some 
enormity,  and  therefore,  a  "  good  man "  cannot  be  the  right  sig- 
nification of  the  phrase  :  and  the  notion  commonly  attached  to  the 
fairness  of  the  women,  excludes  from  it  such  an  idea.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  those  fair  daughters  were  merely  beautiful  as  to 
their  persons,  and  that  they  were  taken  as  wives,  from  their  phys- 
ical aspect,  irrespective  of  any  sound  consideration  of  character.* 
Of  course,  this  can  only  be  a  conjecture  ;  but  if  it  is  conceded  to 
be  probable,  what  is  to  become  of  the  above  idea  of  the  sons  of 
God  ?  they  cannot  be  good  men,  who  sacrifice  principle  to  appear- 
ance, in  so  serious  a  matter.  They  cannot  be  the  sons  of  God,  in 
such  a  sense,  who  prefer  appetite  to  virtue.  If  the  sons  of  God 
were  good  men,  they  must  have  made  a  prudent  choice  of  wives, 
and  in  that  case,  there  seems  no  ground  for  the  calamity,  towards 
which  it  is  said  to  have  contributed.  If  they  did  not  make  such  a 
choice,  then  the  title  "  sons  of  God  "  cannot  mean  what  it  has  been 
supposed  to  do.  Indeed,  the  general  scope  of  the  history,  as  well 
as  the  particular  declarations  of  it,  show,  "  That  the  wickedness 
of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually."  (Gen.  vi.  5.) 
What  then  is  to  be  done  with  this  passage  of  our  history  ?  The 
more  it  is  viewed  in  the  light  of  a  literal  narrative,  the  more  dense 

*  See  Commentary  of  Henry  and  Scott,  published  for  the  Beligioua 
Tract  Society.  '    • 


THE    INTERNAL    SENSE.  243 

becomes  the  fog  by  which  it  is  surrounded.*  The  Word  of  the 
Lord  is  spirit :  and  it  is  to  this  that  we  must  go,  to  be  delivered 
from  the  embarrassments  of  the  letter :  let  us  try  the  effect  of  such 
a  course. 

It  came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to  multiply  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  that  daughters  were  born  unto  them.  By  men,  are  plainly 
meant,  mankind  who  lived  in  those  times  of  the  declining  church. 
The  spiritual  quality  of  this  people,  in  respect  to  the  things  of  love 
and  faith,  was  exceedingly  corrupt.  The  wickedness  of  men  was 
great  in  the  earth ;  and  they  are  here  called  men,  not  because  they 
possessed  the  principles  of  religious  manhood,  but  chiefly  because 
they  were  responsible  for  their  perversities.  The  multiplication 
of  such  men,  denoted  the  increase  of  those  corruptions  into  which 
the  race  at  that  time  fell ;  and  they  are  said  to  have  multiplied  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  properly  ground,  to  signify  that  the  increase 
of  their  wickedness  spread  itself  abroad  upon  the  visible  church 
at  that  period.  The  face  of  the  ground  is  the  visible  character  of 
the  church,  and  this  is  presented  in  the  lives  of  its  professors.  If 
their  lives  are  wise  and  virtuous,  the  face  of  the  ground  is  bright 
and  lovely  ;  but  if  their  lives  be  ignorant  and  vicious,  then  the  face 
of  the  ground  is  benighted  and  defiled.  This  latter  was  the  con- 
dition of  the  visible  church  now  treated  of.  The  people  had  suc- 
cessively abandoned  the  ways  of  God,  and  betaken  themselves  to 
the  criminal  indulgence  of  their  own  follies  :  and,  in  this  perverted 
state,  daughters  are  said  to  have  been  born  unto  them  —  not  sons, 
but  daughters  only  —  because  by  the  daughters  of  the  wicked,  are 
spiritually  denoted  the  lusts  which  they  originate.  The  wicked, 
as  is  well  known,  are  continually  engendering  some  new  lusts,  and 

*  Three  other  views  have  been  taken  of  this  passage,  which  it  may  be 
useful  to  notice.  One  is,  that  the  phrase  "  sons  of  God,"  ought  not  to 
be  understood  in  a  strict  sense,  but  as  denoting  that  men,  distinguished 
for  their  position  in  society,  were,  with  a  profane  use  of  language,  called 
sons  of  God  by  the  servile  portion  of  the  community ;  and  consequently, 
that  Moses  adopted  their  expression  in  his  history.  But  of  this,  the  text 
affords  no  evidence :  nor  do  the  Scriptures  present  an  instance  of  wicked 
men  being  so  denominated.  Another  idea  is,  that  the  term  translated 
god,  ought  to  have  been  given  as  "princes,"  "great  men,"  "rulers," 
or  some  equivalent  word.  To  this  it  may  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that 
the  original  word  is  Elohim.  The  third  opinion  is,  that  the  "sons  of 
God"  were  the  sons  of  Seth,  orientally  expressed,  and  that  their  sin 
consisted  in  marrying  with  the  daughters  of  Cain,  which  is  considered  to 
have  been  prohibited ;  these,  however,  are  mere  conjectures,  for  which 
there  is  no  evidence  in  the  letter  of  the  history. 


244  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

these,  in  the  figurative  style  of  antiquity,  are  here  represented  by 
daughters.  Tlie  good,  also,  are  never  unmindful  of  genuine  use- 
fulness, and  they  are  always  giving  origination  to  some  new  Zove, 
which,  upon  the  same  principle,  where  good  is  the  subject  treated 
of,  is  likewise  spoken  of  as  a  daughter.  The  signification  is  de- 
termined by  the  quality  of  the  things  which  are  predicated.  Thus, 
when  the  affections  of  goodness  and  truth  are  spoken  of  as  exist- 
ing in  the  church,  they  are  called  the  daughters  of  Zion,  the 
daughters  of  Judah,  and  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem.  (Zech.  ii. 
10.  Psalm  xlviii.  11,  &c.,  &c.  Lam.  ii.  13.)  But  when  the  lusts 
of  evil  and  falsehood  are  treated  of,  they  are  called  the  daughters 
of  Babylon,  the  daughters  of  the  Philistines,  the  daughters  of  Moab, 
and,  in  the  instance  specially  before  us,  the  daughters  of  Men. 
(Psalm  cxxxvii.  8.  2  Sam.  i.  20.  Numbers  xxv.  1.)  The  ground 
of  these  significations  is,  that  woman  is  affection  by  nature.  The 
affection  of  good  is  soft,  delicate,  and  persevering,  and  thus,  as  a 
female  ;  and  the  understanding  of  truth  is  discriminating,  robust, 
and  powerful,  and  thus,  as  a  male.  On  whatever  woman  sets  her 
heart  she  is  extreme :  when  she  directs  her  affections  to  what  is 
good,  she  is  inexpressibly  lovely ;  when  she  dedicates  herself  to 
vice,  she  is  horribly  revolting.  A  woman  in  the  search  of  excel- 
lence, is  sweet  and  prudent ;  in  the  pursuit  of  wickedness,  she  is 
coarse  and  disgusting.  A  virtuous  woman  is  a  ruby,  a  vicious 
woman  is  a  viper ;  and  from  these  circumstances  we  may  readily 
see,  that  what  is  love  with  the  good,  is  converted  into  lust  with  the 
wicked.  Wickedness  was  the  characteristic  of  the  people  under 
our  consideration,  so,  that  the  daughters  which  are  said  to  have 
been  bom  unto  them,  were  ItistSf  acquiring  a  distinctiveness  in  the 
evil  conduct  of  the  times. 

It  is  in  consequence  of  the  will  having  sunk  into  mere  evil,  while 
the  understanding,  by  having  been  separated  from  it,  Avas  preserv^ed 
in  a  state  capable  of  having  somewhat  intellectual  and  rational 
formed  within  it,  that  there  were  so  many  laws  enacted  under  the 
Jewish  dispensation,  pointing  out  the  prerogatives  of  man,  that  is, 
of  the  faculty  of  the  understanding,  and  of  the  obedience  due  from 
the  woman,  which  is  the  submission  of  the  will.  Those  laws  and 
statements  are  not  to  be  understood  to  mean,  that  there  is  any 
natural  superiority  and  mastery  belonging  to  the  one  sex,  and  some 
inferiority  and  subordination  proper  to  the  other.  The  distinction 
is  not  of  such  a  kind,  but  it  consists  in  the  circumstance,  tliat  with 
the  woman  the  ivUl  is  her  outermost  characteristic,  and  with  the 


SONS  OF  GOD  DENOTE  DOCTRINAL  TRUTHS.     245 

man,  his  understanding  is  his  outermost  characteristic:  it  is  on 
these  grounds  that  the  two  sexes  represent  their  most  visible  char- 
acteristics, —  the  woman  ivUl  and  its  affections,  and  the  man  un- 
derstanding and  its  thoughts.  If  the  will,  in  consequence  of  its 
fallen  quality,  do  not  submit  to  the  government  of  the  rational 
thoughts  of  the  understanding,  it  goes  astray  from  every  good,  and 
thereupon,  all  those  lusts  are  engendered,  which  contribute  so 
largely  to  bring  about  the  moral  desolation  of  the  church. 

Seeing,  then,  that  by  the  daughters  of  men,  in  the  case  before 
us,  are  spiritually  denoted  those  lusts  of  evil  which  were  brought 
forth  by  the  wickedness  of  those  early  inhabitants  of  our  earth,  let 
us,  in  the  next  place,  endeavor  to  ascertain  what  is  meant  by  "  the 
sons  of  God."  Now,  as  by  daughters,  in  general,  are  signified  the 
things  of  affection  in  the  will,  so  by  sons,  are  spiritually  repre- 
sented the  things  of  thought  in  the  understanding.  While  affec- 
tion, as  the  offspring  of  the  will,  is  as  a  daughter ;  so  thought,  as 
the  offspring  of  the  understanding,  is  as  a  son.  Hence,  sons,  apart 
from  the  mere  letter  of  the  expression,  represent  the  thoughts  of 
the  understanding,  and  therefore,  the  phrase,  "  sons  of  God,"  de- 
notes all  those  thoughts  which  proceed  from  God ;  consequently, 
divine  truths. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  called  the  Son  of  God,  in  a  pre-eminent 
sense,  because  it  expresses  that  characteristic  of  the  divine  truth 
which  he  manifested  and  sustained.  "I  am,"  said  he,  "the 
truth : "  (John  xiv.  6 :)  again,  it  is  written  of  Him,  that  He  was 
"  the  Word,"  which  is  the  truth.  (John  i.  1  - 14.)  He  was  the 
living  impersonation  and  embodiment  of  the  Word  ;  he,  likewise, 
declared  that  those  "  were  called  Gods,  to  whom  the  Word  of  God 
came : "  (John  x.  35 :)  but  it  is  evident,  that  it  was  the  reception 
of  the  divine  truth,  which  conferred  this  remarkable  distinction. 
Judges  are  called  gods,  (Exod.  xxii.  28,)  because  the  judgment 
they  were  required  to  exercise,  was  to  be  formed  according  to  truth 
and  equity.  Moses  is  said  to  have  been  a  god  to  Pharaoh,  (Exod. 
vii.  1 ;)  because  he  was  the  messenger  by  whom  divine  truth  was 
to  be  communicated  to  that  obstinate  monarch.  In  these  cases, 
divine  truth  is  called  God,  and  particular  truths  derived  therefrom, 
are  called  "  the  sons  of  God."  Hence,  also,  they  who  believe  in 
God,  are  said  to  be  his  sons,  (John  i.  12 ;)  because  such  belief 
is  founded  on  the  reception  and  acknowledgment  of  the  divine  truth 
from  Him.  The  power  which  is  given  to  men  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  results  from  their  knowing  divine  tmth,  and  applying  it  to 
21* 


246  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

the  formation  of  their  character.  Hence,  the  apostle  says,  '*  As 
many  as  are  led  by  the  spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God. ' 
(Rom.  viii.  14.)  The  spirit  of  God  is  the  influence  of  divine  truth 
proceeding  from  Him. 

The  sons  of  God,  then,  in  the  remarkable  passage  we  are  con- 
sidering, is  a  phrase  intended  to  express  those  doctrinal  truths  which 
yet  remained  among  the  people.  They  had  been  handed  down  to 
them  from  a  remote  and  superior  ancestry,  nor  had  they  yet  been 
dissipated  by  the  corruptions  of  the  people  :  that  was  an  enormity 
they  were  now  about  to  perpetrate.  They  are  said  to  have  seen 
the  daughters  of  men  that  they  were  fair ;  to  inform  us,  that  they 
were  about  to  be  made  to  favor  and  subserve  the  lusts  of  evil :  and 
the  consummation  of  this  iniquity  is  thus  described,  "  They  took 
to  them  wives  of  all  which  they  chose." 

This  is  a  peculiar  circumstance,  which  takes  place  in  the  human 
mind  as  the  things  of  the  church  are  departing  out  of  it ;  and 
therefore,  it  may  be  useful  to  elucidate  it  by  an  additional  remark. 
When  a  man  turns  himself  away  from  good,  and  goes  in  an  oppo- 
site direction,  a  change  takes  place  both  as  to  the  objects  of  his 
love  and  the  subjects  of  his  thinking.  That,  also,  which  he  loves 
pre-eminently,  he  thinks  continually,  and  so  all  the  knowledges  of 
his  mind  are  brought  into  requisition,  to  serve  and  favor  the  objects 
of  his  love.  If  there  is  any  powerful  truth  which  cannot  be  easily 
made  to  bend  in  such  a  direction,  it  is  rejected  and  ultimately  for- 
gotten, but  all  other  truths  are  induced  to  favor  the  lusts  which  arc 
desired,  and  so,  to  look  upon  them  as  "  fair."  By  this  means,  men 
confirm  themselves  in  their  impurities,  and  they  are  not  unfrequent- 
ly  led  by  it  into  the  delusion  of  believing  their  evil  to  be  good. 
This  state  is  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures  as  putting  bitter  for  sweet 
and  sweet  for  bitter ;  (Isaiah  v.  20 ;)  and  it  may  readily  be  con- 
ceited, by  any  one  who  will  attentively  observe  what  passes  m 
himself  and  others.  Every  one  who  loves  an  evil,  will  endeavor 
to  invent  arguments  to  persuade  himself  that  it  is  allowable,  as 
well  as  agreeable.  Men  are  exceedingly  expert  in  reasoning  fa- 
vorably for  the  things  they  love.  The  materials  for  such  reason- 
ings they  will  draw  from  any  and  every  source  at  their  command  : 
nor  will  the  Word  of  the  Lord  itself  be  left  untouched  in  such  a 
course.  Approximations  to  this  are  occasionally  observable  in 
quoting  the  Scriptures  upon  light  and  frivolous  occasions :  and 
particularly,  when  its  passages  are  cited  as  the  authority  or  excuse 
for  any  questionable  conduct.     As  for  instance,  when  the  wars  to 


THE    MEANING    ILLUSTRATED.  247 

which  the  Israelites  were  directed,  are  referred  to  as  a  sanction  for 
the  prosecution  of  wars  in  general :  or,  when  the  conduct  of  David 
is  cited  to  justify  the  indulgence  of  some  criminal  propensity. 
But  whensoever  any  of  the  statements  of  divine  truth  are  era- 
ployed  to  favor  and  forward  the  pursuits  of  a  selfish  love,  then  the 
sons  of  God  are  in  the  act  of  seeing  the  daughters  of  men  to  be 
fair  —  the  divine  truths  are  about  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  hu- 
man lusts.  Those  who  are  in  evil,  will  excuse  the  outbreaks  of 
their  anger  by  adducing  passages  expressive  of  the  divine  wrath ;  * 
and  they  will  defend  the  hatred  of  their  enemies,  by  citing  the 
laws  of  retaliation ;  in  short,  evil  men,  like  devils,  can  quote 
Scripture  for  their  purpose,  pervert  its  design,  and  thus  bring  its 
truth  into  contact  with  impurity.f  All  such  cases  may  be  taken 
as  illustrations  of  those  dark  scenes  of  moral  turpitude,  which 
transpired  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Antediluvian  world,  expressed 
in  the  remarkable,  yet  powerfully  significant  sentence,  "  The  sons 
of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men,  that  they  were  fair." 

Those  abandoned  people,  having  perverted  the  truth  to  subserve 
an  evil  purpose,  must  needs  have  profaned  it ;  and  thereby  they 
deprived  themselves,  not  only  of  every  spiritual  good,  but  even  of 
those  remains  which  might  have  conduced  to  its  attainment.  All 
such  profanation  of  the  Word  closes  the  interiors  of  the  mind 
against  the  influence  of  heavenly  graces,  and  prepares  it  for  the 
inundation  and  overflow  of  those  infernal  principles  in  which  they 
perish. 

It  was  to  describe  that  desperate  condition,  in  which  the  mind 
would  no  longer  be  led  by  the  spiritual  things  of  heaven,  that  the 
Lord  is  stated  to  have  said,  "  My  spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with 

*  **  It  is  reported  that  the  Pope,  Julius  the  3d,  had  been  greatly  en- 
raged at  the  Bishop  of  Rimini,  his  major-domo,  about  a  peacock ;  that 
His  Holiness  twice  blasphemed,  —  and  that  when  one  of  the  Cardinals 
told  him  that  he  ought  not  to  be  so  angry  upon  so  small  a  matter,  the 
Pope  answered,  **  If  God  was  so  much  disturbed,  and  filled  with  such 
anger  and  fury,  and  did  such  a  quantity  of  evil  to  the  whole  human  race 
about  an  apple ;  why  may  not  I,  who  am  his  vicar  upon  earth,  be  angry 
with  my  major-domo  about  a  peacock."  —  Examiner  of  May  18,  1817,  as 
cited  by  the  Rev.  R.  Hindmarsh. 

+  I  remember  reading,  some  few  years  ago,  in  a  police  report,  of  a  man, 
who  had  neglected,  and  ran  away  from  his  family,  defending  himself  with 
the  following  passage  of  the  Word:  "Every  one  that  hath  forsaken 
houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or  mother  or  wife,  or  children, 
or  lands  for  my  sake,  shall  receive  an  hundred-fold,  and  shall  inherit 
everlasting  life."  —  Matt.  xix.  29. 


248  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

man."  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  consists  in  those  holy  influences 
which  proceed  from  him  to  operate  on  men  the  graces  of  salvation, 
through  the  teaching  of  His  Word  ;  and  the  strivings  of  this  Spirit 
consisted  in  its  efforts  to  rescue  men  from  evil,  and  better  their 
condition  in  respect  to  heavenly  things.  But  when  this  effort 
ceased  to  be  effective,  in  consequence  of  its  being  resisted  on  the 
part  of  man,  then  this  Spirit  is  said  to  strive  no  longer ;  not  that 
the  mercy  of  the  Lord  was  withdrawn,  but  that  it  had  ceased  to 
be  perceived  or  acknowledged  by  mankind.  Nevertheless,  the 
design  of  perpetuating  the  human  race  was  not  to  be  abandoned, 
though  new  ground  was  to  be  provided  for  the  reception  of  the 
means.  It  was  pronounced,  that  there  "  should  not  be  any  more 
a  flood  to  destroy  the  earth  ; "  (Gen.  ix.  11 ;)  because  means  for  its 
prevention  had  been  adopted  in  the  new  arrangement  of  the  human 
mind  before  referred  to.  The  remains,  which  were  to  be  insemi- 
nated into  the  intellectual  faculty,  and  there  preserved  by  the 
Lord,  were  no  more  to  be  destroyed,  as  they  had  been,  by  the  last 
posterity  of  the  most  ancient  people. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  GIANTS  THAT  WERE  IN  THE  ANTEDILUVIAN  WORLD,  —  AND  THE 
REPENTANCE  OF  THE  LORD  THAT  HE  HAD  MADE  MAN. 

•*  It  is  not  necessary  to  understand  any  particular  race  of  men  of  higher 
stature  than  usual,  as  many  ancient  interpreters  have  done  ;  for  since 
nephil  means,  to  fall  or  rush  on  any  one,  nephilim  will  mean  those  who 
rush  or  fall  on  others,  e.  e.  robbers,  banditti,  —  the  Centaurs  of  the 
Greeks  were  the  same  kind  of  people."  —  Rosenmuller. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that  towards  the  closing  of  the 
antediluvian  period,  we  should  be  informed  that  "  there  were 
giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days ;  and  also,  afler  that,  when  the 
sons  of  God  came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,  and  they  bare 
children  to  them,  the  same  became  mighty  men,  which  tvere  of  old, 
men  of  renown."  (Gen.  vi.  4.)  The  most  accomplished  scholars 
admit,  that  the  original  term  here  translated  giants,  does  not 
necessarily  mean  men  of  extraordinary  stature,  and  that  it  may  be 
very  fairly  construed  to  signify  persons  with  remarkable  minds. 
Taking  this  view  of  the  subject,  Ave  at  once  perceive  a  reason  for 
the  statement,  which  otherwise  seems  disconnected.  It  comports 
with  the  circumstance  of  their  origin  being  traced  to  a  connection 
of  the  sons  of  God  with  the  daughters  of  men ;  and  doubtless,  it 


THE    GIANTS    IN    THE    A.NTEDILUVIAN    WORLD.  249 

is  designed  to  point  out  one  of  the  mental  phenomena  developed 
by  an  expiring  church,  and  it  must  be  understood  to  indicate  some 
enormity,  which  the  idea  of  gigantic  bodies  does  not  furnish. 

There  might  have  been  individuals  in  those  times,  as  there  have 
been  in  all  subsequent  ages  and  nations,  whose  physical  stature 
exce^ed  the  average  size  of  men.  Several  instances  are  men- 
tioned in  the  really  historical  portions  of  the  Scriptures.  Og,  the 
king  of  Bashan;*  Goliah,  of  Gath;f  Ishbi-benob,  and  Saph;  (2 
Sam.  xxi.  16,  18  ;)  may  be  cited,  as  examples  ;  and  even  Saul,  the 
king  of  Israel,  "  from  his  shoulders  and  upwards  was  higher  than 
any  of  the  people."  (1  Sam,  ix.  2.)  Indeed,  it  appears  that  there 
were  some  families  or  tribes,  who  attained  an  uncommon  height : 
the  sons  of  Anak  are  so  described,  (Numb,  xiii,  33,)  so  also,  are 
*'  many  "  of  those  whom  the  Moabites  called  Emims,  and  the  Am- 
monites, Zamzumraims  ;  (Deut.  ii.  10,  11,  20;)  the  Rephaims,  like- 
wise, from  the  name,  are  considered  such  a  race.  Now,  there 
cannot  be  any  moral  wrong,  in  the  circumstance  of  the  body  being 
developed  into  extraordinary  magnitude :  it  is  a  consequence  of 
the  action  of  some  natural  law,  over  which,  men  have  but  very 
little  controL  But  it  is  remarkable,  that  in  every  case  where  such 
persons  are  treated  of  in  the  Scriptures,  they  are  contemplated  as 
being  at  enmity  with  God  and  religion ! 

This  circumstance  forcibly  suggests,  that  such  cases  are  re- 
corded, not  so  much  to  supply  us  with  historic  information,  as  to 
afford  the  means  of  a  spiritual  representation.  We  do  not  obtain 
much  religious  knowledge  from  being  told  that  certain  men,  or 
classes  of  persons,  attained  to  an  unusual  height.  Such  a  fact 
may  be  interesting  to  science,  but  it  conveys  no  information  about 
the  characteristic  of  the  mind,  heart,  and  religion.;  and  these,  after 
all,  are  the  great  topics  upon  which  the  Scriptures  treat  in  every 
part ;  and  the  machinery  of  eloquence,  poetry,  history,  and  figure 
in  a  variety  of  forms,  are  employed  to  subserve  this  momentous 
purpose. 

*  Deut.  iii.  11.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  remnant  of  Giants ;  most 
probably  to  intimate  that  he  was  the  last  of  a  family  possessing  unusual 
stature.  His  real  height  is  not  recorded  ;  his  bed  (Michaelis,  and  Dathe, 
translate  it  his  coffin,)  is  said  to  have  been  nine  cubits  long,  which  ia 
fifteen  feet  four  inches  and  a  half. 

f  I  Sam.  xvii.  4.  He  was  six  cubits  and  a  span  in  height,  that  is,  ten 
feet  seven  inches.  The  skeleton  of  O'Brien,  preserved  in  the  Museum  of 
the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  in  London,  measures  seven  feet  eleven 
inches  in  height. 


250  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

Although,  then,  there  might  have  been  exceedingly  tall  men  in 
the  antediluvian  world,  we  conceive,  that  by  the  giants,  of  whom 
Moses  speaksy  as  existing  in  the  earth  in  those  days,  were  repre- 
sented some  enormous  condition  of  mind,  rather  than  of  body; 
and  that  it  was  produced,  as  intimated,  by  that  profane  commerce, 
which  existed  between  the  sons  of  Grod  and  the  daughters  of,men. 
It  is  easy  to  see,  that  such  a  result  must  have  taken  place,  when 
the  doctrines  of  truth  were  prostituted  so  as  to  favor  the  lusts  of 
men.  Under  such  a  circumstance,  they  forgot  the  greatness  of 
God,  and  strove  to  increase  the  proportions  of  themselves.  They 
grew  big  in  their  own  eyes,  and  their  phantasies  caused  them  to 
suppose  that  they  possessed  a  large  mental  stature.  The  mind 
has  its  dimensions  as  well  as  the  body ;  and  hence,  we  sometimes 
speak  of  great  and  little  minds ;  of  giant  thoughts,  and  dwarfish 
notions.  The  term,  giant,  is  derived  from  words  which  express 
the  idea  of  earth-born ;  and  those  of  whom  Moses  treats,  in  the 
case  before  us,  were  so,  because  they  possessed  an  enlarged  condi- 
tion of  selfish  love,  which  is,  "  of  the  earth,  earthy."  By  an  imagi- 
nation of  their  own  height  and  pre-eminence,  they  set  aside  what- 
soever was  humble,  contrite,  and  holy,  and  blew  themselves  into 
unseemly  proportions.  "  Charity,"  says  the  apostle,  "  vaunteth  not 
itself,  is  not  puffed  up,  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly ; "  (1  Cor. 
xiii.  4,  5 ;)  but  self-love,  and  its  persuasions,  which  are  the  opposites 
to  this  heavenly  grace,  do  all  these  things.  The  wicked,  who 
have  knowledge,^  make  it  bend  to  favor  their  criminal  pursuits,  and 
so  their  vices  become  gigantic.  It  is  the  obvious  result  of  such  a 
course.  This  idea  is  such  as  most  persons  can  appreciate :  for 
every  one  has  met  with  men  who  were,  more  or  less,  great  in  their 
own  estimation,  —  who  considered  themselves  somewhat  above 
the  ordinary  dimensions  of  tlie  mental  standard.  Such  phantasies 
swell  out  their  iiiiiigitiary  u  importance,  and,  in  the  absence  of  the 
only  cofrrectivetf,  — religious  influences  and  truths,  —  they  are  sure 
to  become  gi-eat  in  their  own  eyes.  Now  this  condition,  which  has 
been  more  or  less  realized  in  every  age  of  the  world,  was,  at  the 
period  of  which  we  are  treating,  developed  in  great  enormity ; 
hence  it  became  one  of  the  effective  causes  which  hastened  on 
the  inundation  of  the  world. 

This  posterity  of  the  dying  church  were  called,  in  Hebrew, 
Nephilim,  which  Aquila  translates,  EnlnmrofTfg  (Epipiptontes) 
men  who  attack ;  and  Symmachus  BiaToi  (Biaioi)  violent  men. 
those  whose  rule  of  action  is  by  force  of  arms ;  these  interpreta- 


WHAT    PROFANJgriON    IS.  251 

tions  agree  with  the  idea  above  expressed.  There  are,  however, 
several  words  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  signifying  giants,  which 
are  not  distinguished  in  the  English  version.  They  are  used 
merely  as  names,  and  the  ordinary  reader  only  learas  that  they 
have  such  a  meaning  by  collateral  circumstances.  Among  these, 
are  Emim,  Anakim,  and  Rephaim ;  *  and  each  of  them  is  expres- 
sive of  some  bad  quality,  which  had  become  conspicuous  by  the 
rejection  of  some  particular  good  of  religion  and  the  church.  But 
the  Nephilira,  which  our  version  calls  giants,  were  of  the  most 
atrocious  kind  ;  and  hence,  the  best  scholars  have  -considered  the 
word  to  express  the  idea  of  men  whose  minds  had  become  some- 
what enormous,  in  consequence  of  the  guilt  and  profanation  into 
which  they  had  plunged  themselves.f 

These  mental  enormities  were  produced,  as  just  before  observed, 
in  those  who  perverted  the  doctrines  of  faith  to  favor  filthy  loves, 
signified  by  the  sons  of  God  going  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men, 
and  their  bearing  to  them.^  The  result  of  such  a  froward  course, 
must,  obviously,  have  been  the  profanation  of  the  holy  things 
of  the  church,  and  thus,  to  hasten  on  its  desolation,  and  produce 
its  end. 

Profanation  consists  in  first  knowing  what  interior  truth  and, 
goodness  are,  and  afterwards,  bringing  them  down  to  terrestrial 
things,  and  then  making  them  favor  what  is  impure  and  wicked : 
this,  for  example,  is  the  case  with  those  who,  (having  once  ac- 
knowledged the  sanctity  of  conjugial  love,)  on  hearing  any  thing 
about  the  heavenly  origin  of  marriage,  and  the  holiness  of  that 
estate,  presently  turn  it  into  ideas  of  lasciviousness  and  lust :  or, 
to  take  another  instance,  namely,  as  is  the  case  with  those,  who, 
having  once  been  made  acquainted  with  the  sacred  things  of  re- 
ligion, and  thence  acknowledged  them,  but  afterwards  come  to 
regard  them  only  as  means  by  which  to  impose  upon  mankind,  to 
acquire  dominion  in  the  circle  where  they  move,  and  so  procure 
gratification  for  their  loves  of  self  and  the  world.     They  who  pos- 

*  The  Septuagint,  sometimes  translates  the  Hebrew  word,  Gibbor, 
ytyavrei,  giant.  For  instance,  it  says,  that  Nimrod  was  a  yiyavTes,  giant, 
before  the  Lord.  —  Gen.  x.  8,  9.  Our  version  says,  He  was  a  "mighty 
one,"  —  "  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord."  The  idea  intended  to  be 
expressed  by  this  passage,  is,  that  Nimrod  was  powerful  in  persuasion. 

t  Dr.  A.  Clark  says,  "Fallen,  earth-born  men,  with  the  animal  and 
devilish  mind,  were  the  Nephilim." 

X  It  is  not  said  in  the  original,  that  they  bear  children ;  and  the  iifprd 
child/rent  is  italicized  in  our  version  to  point  out  that  fact. 


252  ANTEiriLTTVlAN    HISTORY. 

sess  within  themselves  any  knowledg'es  of  divine  truth,  and  at  the 
same  time,  do  not  acknowledge  the  Lord  and  his  authority  therein, 
are  obviously  guilty  of  this  profanation.  There  are  various  de- 
grees of  this  enormity,  some  more  interior  than  others ;  some 
aifecting  goodness,  and  some  affecting  truth,  and  each  genera 
having  many  species ;  so  that  it  behoves  men  to  be  watchfiJl  over 
every  sentiment  or  emotion,  that  would  lead  them  to  employ  divine 
things  to  other  than  heavenly  uses.  Whensoever  such  profanation 
takes  place,  then  "  the  sons  of  God  have  gone  in  unto  the  daugh- 
ters of  men,"  andNephilim  are  born, — enormities  of  spiritual  state 
and  life  come  forth. 

But  they  are  also  called,  "  mighty  men  which  were  of  old,  men 
of  renown."  They  are  thus  denominated,  to  signify  the  power 
which  selfish  love  had  developed  among  them.  It  is  well  known, 
that  self-love  is  mighty  in  all  its  endeavors  to  secure  the  ends 
which  it  proposes.  The  desire  of  reputation,  wealth,  hopors,  place, 
distinction,  or  any  other  worldly  eminence,  when  uninfluenced  by 
the  principles  of  religion,  are  so  many  varying  forms  of  self-love, 
in  which  may  be  seen  its  might,  in  setting  aside  obstacles,  sur- 
mounting difficulties,  and  successfully  securing  the  objects  at 
which  it  aims.  It  is  against  the  might  of  this  nefarious  principle, 
which  the  graces  and  teachings  of  religion  have  to  contend.  So 
long  as  self-love  reigns,  and  sways  its  iron  sceptre  over  the  human 
character,  so  long  the  love  of  God  and  charity  to  man,  are  ex- 
cluded from  exercising  their  beneficent  influences  upon  the  heart, 
and  it  is  exposed  to  the  inflowings  of  every  impurity.  Self-love 
is  a  principle  that  is  mighty  for  evil ;  and  it  is  in  the  continual  ef- 
fort to  render  all  persons  subservient  to  its  purposes,  and  all  things 
contributary  to  its  designs.  It  was  the  influence  of  this  unhallowed 
might,  which  brought  the  world  into  that  condition  which  rendered 
redemption  necessary^for  its  safety  and  continuance.  It  was  against 
spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places,  so  induced,  with  which  the 
Lord  wrestled,  in  order  to  accomplish  that  work  ;  and  therefore,  it 
is  written,  "  A  sword  is  upon  her  mighty  men  ;  and  they  shall  be 
dismayed ; "  ( Jer,  1.  36 ;)  where,  by  a  sword,  is  not  meant  the  weap- 
on of  the  soldier,  but  the  Lord's  Divine  truth,  for  this  it  is,  which 
resists  and  inflicts  dismay,  when  judgment  comes,  upon  all  who 
derive  their  might  from  selfish  love.  It  is  to  the  same  purpose, 
that  Amos  declares,  "  The  strong  shall  not  strengthen  his  force, 
neither  shall  the  mighty  deliver  himself;"  (Amos  ii.  14;)  where, 
by  the  mighty  are  denoted  those  who,  from  self-love,  are  powerful 


SHOCKING    DEPRAVITY.  253 

to  do  evil.  And,  again,  Isaiah  says,  "  Woe  unto  them  IJiat  are 
mighty  to  drink  wine,  and  men  of  strength  to  mingle  strong  drink, 
which  justify  the  wicked  for  reward,  and  take  away  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  righteous  from  Him;"  (Isaiah  v.  22,  23;)  where,  the 
"  mighty,"  and  "  the  men  of  strength,"  denote  self-love  and  the 
love  of  the  world.  These  considerations  sufficiently  show,  that 
the  Nephilim,  or  giants,  are  called  "  mighty  men,"  in  reference  to 
the  powerful  nature  of  that  self-love  in  which  they  were  principled ; 
and  which  resisted,  in  pursuing  its  delights,  all  those  orderly  in- 
fluences of  truth  and  heaven,  which  the  Divine  Providence  had 
brought  to  bear  upon  their  condition. 

But  it  is  said  of  such  mighty  ones,  that  they  "  were  of  old,  men 
of  renown."  From  this  we  learn,  that  this  very  ancient  narration 
refers  to  a  period  which  then  belonged  to  a  remote  antiquity  ;  and 
also,  to  a  description  of  character,  which  existed  at  that  time,  — 
to  persons  who  had  the  genius  of  the  Nephilim,  but  who  had  not 
reached  so  great  a  depth  in  degradation.  Those  of  old  "were 
men  of  renown,"  or,  of  a  name,  who  had  acquired  a  quality  and 
distinction  from  the  influences  of  self-love,  but  with  whom  it  had 
not  attained  so  atrocious  a  development,  as  with  those  Nephilim, 
who  are  now  called  "  mighty  men." 

All  these  circumstances,  showing  the  depraved  condition  into 
which  the  people  of  those  times  were  sinking,  are  fully  corrobora- 
ted by  the  declarations  which  immediately  follow,  namely,  "  And 
God  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and 
that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil 
continually."  (Gen,  vi.  5.)  This,  indeed,  is  a  forcible  description 
of  their  moral  profligacy,  and  we  at  once  grasp  the  general  idea 
of  it.  But  it  also  announces  some  particulars,  and  points  out  the 
peculiar  quality  of  their  state. 

By  the  wickedness  of  man  being  great,  with  the  statement  that 
it  proceeded  from  the  heart,  is  plainly  denoted,  that  there  began  to 
be  no  will,  for  any  thing  that  is  good.  The  will  of  man  is  a-  prin- 
ciple peculiar  to  his  nature  ;  but  it  is  truly  human,  only  so  far  as 
it  is  directed  to  the  love  and  pursuit  of  intelligence  and  virtue. 
This  is  the  interesting  use  for  which  it  was  given,  and  it  is  pre- 
served by  being  dedicated  to  it.  When  men  reject  goodness,  the 
will,  as  a  human  principle,  perishes,  and  instead  thereof,  lusts  take 
place  ;  and  this  was  the  perilous  condition  of  the  people  at  the 
time  now  treated  of.  Their  will  was  averted  from  the  purposes  of 
good,  and  converted  into  a  means  of  evil  Its  primitive  condition 
22 


254  ANTEDILirVIAN    HISTORY. 

may  be  compared  to  a  beautiful  palace,  erected  for  the  residence 
•»f  a  king,  but  which  was  subsequently  turned  into  the  d-.velling- 
place  for  robbers  and  desperadoes  of  every  grade.  It  consaquently 
ceased  to  be  the  habitation  of  the  king,  and  became  the  abode  of 
the  lawless.  So,  the  will  of  this  ancient  people,  was  no  longer  a 
will,  but  a  lust  of  the  heart,  out  of  which,  the  Lord  says,  "  Proceed 
evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness, 
and  blasphemies."  (Matt.  xv.  19.)  Nor  was  the  will  alone  de- 
praved; the  understanding  became  equally  corrupt.  While  the 
love  of  good  passed  away  from  the  former,  the  perception  of  truth 
perished  in  the  latter.  Men's  thoughts  were  conjoined  with  the 
evils  of  their  heart ;  the  imagination  of  the  one  favored  the  lusts 
of  the  other :  for  the  function  of  willing,  and  the  power  of  think- 
ing, were  yet  as  one,  so  that  every  imagination  of  his  thought  was 
from  his  heart,  and  consequently,  in  confonnity  with  its  desires, 
which,  being  evil  continually,  must  have  induced  corresponding 
falsehoods  perpetually.  What  a  state  of  horrible  corruption  had 
thus  fastened  itself  upon  the  human  character !  and  how  dreadfully 
abandoned  must  have  been  the  people  thus  treated  of !  Evils  have 
driven  out  good,  and,  seizing  upon  the  will,  converted  it  to  lust ; 
they  also  destroyed  the  perceptions  of  truth,  and,  perverting  the 
understanding  by  falsehood,  infused  into  it  those  dreadful  persua- 
sions and  deadly  phantasies,  which  finally  brought  on  their  extinc- 
tion, as  by  the  suffocation  of  a  flood.  And  this  condition,  produced 
by  the  voluntary  action  of  the  people  themselves,  in  opposition  to 
all  those  orderly  influences  of  the  divine  purposes  and  principle, 
which  are  given  to  impress  and  maintain  the  excellency  of  religion, 
led  to  these  remarkable  expressions,  "  And  it  repented  the  Lord 
that  he  had  made  man  upon  the  earth,  and  it  grieved  him  at  his 
heart."     (Gen.  v.  6.) 

It  must  be  evident  that  this  description  of  the  divuie  sentiments, 
is  drawn  in  accommodation  to  the  appearance  which  arises  before 
man's  perverted  imagination.  The  sun,  when  seen  through  a  fog, 
is  red  and  dusky :  that  is  not  his  genuine  aspect.  To  the  froward, 
the  Lord  appears  froward,  but  to  the  upright  in  heart.  He  appears 
upright ;  He  is  good  to  all,  and  therefore,  the  language  expressing 
his  repentanoe  and  grief,  must  be  understood  to  signify,  the  yearn- 
irjgs  of  the  divine  mercy  and  compassion,  in  reference  to  a  people 
who  had  brought  themselves  into  so  deplorable  a  condition. 

Bepentance  is  an  affection  of  the  mind,  which  results  from  a 
consciousness  of  haying  done  something  that  is  wrong,  and  grief 


THE  lord's  repentance  AND  GRIEF.        255 

is  a  feeling  produced,  either  by  a  sense  of  our  own  transgression, 
or  by  the  vices  of  others.  In  any  case,  they  imply  a  violation  of 
the  laws  of  virtue,  and  the  discipline  of  intelligence ;  and  there- 
fore, it  is  evident,  that  the  Lord  cannot  be  said,  to  repent  and 
grieve,  in  this  sense  of  the  terms.  He  cannot  do  any  thing  that  is 
wrong ;  whatsoever  he  does,  is  wise  and  good  ;  and  therefore,  it  is 
written,  that  "  God  is  not  a  man,  that  he  should  lie ;  neither  the  son 
of  man,  that  he  should  repent :  hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it  f 
or  hath  he  spoken  and  shall  he  not  make  it  good  ?  "  (Num.  xxiii. 
19 ;)  and  again,  "  The  strength  of  Israel  will  not  lie  nor  repent ; 
for  he  is  not  a  man  that  he  should  repent."  (1  Sam.  xv.  29.)  It 
therefore  follows  that  the  repentance  and  grief  which  are  attributed 
to  him,  must  be  understood  to  mean  his  divine  mercy ;  that  which 
was  about  to  become  manifest  in  the  establishment  of  a  new  cov- 
enant with  Noah ;  and  also,  to  provide  against  the  recurrence  of 
such  a  calamity,  as  that  which  was  about  to  be  produced.  Men, 
by  a  misdirection  of  their  voluntary  powers,  bring  evil  upon  them- 
selves, and  this  insinuates  falsehood  into  their  understanding ;  from 
this  falsehood,  they  think  God  brings  calamity  upon  them ;  and 
consequently,  when  they  experience  any  abatement  of  punishment 
which  evil  inflicts,  they  also,  begin  to  suppose  that  God  is  repent- 
ing, but  even  in  this  mistaken  view  of  the  subject,  there  is  included 
an  idea  of  the  Lord's  mercy.  The  Scriptures  frequently  represent 
the  goodness  of  God  to  us  under  this  peculiar  aspect ;  and  indeed, 
it  is  founded  in  the  very  nature  of  the  circumstance.  When  the 
Jews,  by  their  abandonment  of  the  Lord,  and  the  following  of  other 
gods,  brought  themselves  into  distresses,  they  commonly  attributed 
them  to  the  angry  visitations  of  the  Almighty ;  and  when  they  re- 
turned to  Him,  by  a  somewhat  faithful  observance  of  His  precepts, 
and  thereby  came  into  a  greater  enjoyment  of  His  blessings,  they 
considered  that  He  was  repenting  of  the  evil,  which  they,  erro- 
neously, believed  He  had  brought  upon  them. 

Nor  has  this  mistaken  notion  of  God's  procedure  been  confined 
to  the  Jewish  nation  only.  Similar  ideas  form  a  part  of  the  re- 
ligious history  of  most  people  in  times  of  calamity.  Famines  and 
pestilences,  which  have  not  unfrequently  been  produced  by  ava- 
rice, ignorance,  idleness,  filth,  and  "man's  inhumanity  to  man,'* 
have  been  very  commonly  ascribed  to  the  vengeance  of  God  ;  and 
upon  this  principle,  He  has  been  prayed  to,  to  remove  the  afflic- 
tions. But  in  the  midst  of  such  distresses,  sensible  men  have  found 
it  necessary  to  bestir  themselves,  and  look,  with  scrutinizing  eyes, 


256  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTOKY, 

for  the  natural  causes  of  such  results.  Hence,  the  land  has  been 
Cultivated  more  scientifically  and  to  a  greater  extent,  nuisances 
have  been  removed,  restrictive  laws  have  been  repealed,  and 
superior  attention  given  to  personal  and  residentiary  cleanliness  ; 
and  the  consequences  have  been,  tliat  the  famine  has  been  stayed, 
and  the  pestilence  abated ;  and  God,  thereupon,  lias  been  supposed 
to  have  repented,  that  is,  to  have  turned  away  the  fierceness  of  his 
wrath.  But  whoever  will  venture  to  look  beneath  the  surface  of 
such  appearances^  must  see,  that  God  cannot  have  undergone  any 
change  of  disposition,  in  all  these  painful  vicissitudes  ^vith  men. 
If  they  neglect,  or  transgress  his  laws,  they  bring  calamity  thereby 
upon  themselves.  If  they  obey  His  laws,  they  open  the  channel 
for  the  incoming  of  His  blessings.  He  is  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  forever.  (Heb.  xiii.  18.)  He  is  essential  love  and  good- 
ness, and  never  brings  afSiction  upon  men.  They  are  tlie  authors 
of  their  own  distresses,  either  by  an  ignorance  of  Grod's  laws,  or 
by  the  .wilful  transgression  of  them :  in  either  case,  the  conse- 
quence, in  this  life,  will  be  the  same :  in  the  hfe  to  come,  the 
ignorant  neglecter  may  be  excused,  but  tlie  wilful  transgressor 
will  be  condemned.  Fury  is  not  in  God,  and  He  changeth  not. 
(Isaiah  xxvii.  4  ;  Mai.  iii.  6.)  He  is  ever  waiting  to  be  gracious  : 
but  men  must  comply  with  the  laws  and  conditions  for  receiving 
it,  or  it  cannot  be  communicated.  And  therefore,  any  improve- 
ments in  our  condition,  are  not  to  be  attributed  to  the  Lord  having 
turned  away  from  his  anger  and  repented,  but  to  the  circumstance 
of  man  having  changed,  and  become  more  favorably  disposed 
towards  Him.  It  is  upon  tliis  principle,  tliat  the  Lord  has  declared 
by  the  prophets,  "  If  that  nation  against  whom  I  have  pronounced, 
turn  from  their  evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to  do 
unto  them ;"  (Jer.  xviii.  8;)  which  plainly  means,  that  if  tlie  people 
improve  their  states  by  a  renunciation  of  their  evil  ways,  they  .will 
then  become  recipients  of  the  divine  mercy :  and  therefore,  the 
Psalmist,  when  treating  of  the  bountiful  goodness  of  the  Lord, 
says,  "  He  remembered  for  them  his  covenant,  and  repented  ac- 
cording to  the  multitude  of  His  mercies."  (Psalm  cvi.  45.) 
Whence  it  is  evident,  that  the  communication  of  mercy,  is  that 
which  is  meant  by  the  Lord's  repentance. 

But  let  us  endeavor  to  penetrate  a  little  further  into  the  mental 
philosophy  of  this  fact.  It  is  quite  clear,  that  the  mercy  of  God 
is  exercised  with  a  view  to  produce  graces  in  men.  But  how  are 
those  graces  to  be  implanted,  so  long  as  evils  and  errors  maiiitaiu 


GOD^S    REPENTANCE    SIGNIFIES    HIS    MERCY.  257 

hxi  uppermost  position  in  their  character  ?  "We  answer,  that  they 
must  becorhe  known  to  their  possessor,  and  be  repented  of  by  him. 
The  light  by  which  a  man  is  enabled  to  see  his  sins,  is  a  commu- 
nication from  the  divine  mercy ;  and  the  power  whereby  he  is 
enabled  to  repent  of  them,  is  from  the  same  source :  so  that  this 
divine  principle  is  present  in  all  the  phases  of  human  repentance. 
Repentance  cannot  take  place  in  man,  without  the  presence  of  the 
divine  mercy ;  and  it  is  on  this  account,  that  this  holy  principle  is 
sometimes  so  denominated  in  the  Word.  The  divine  mercy  pro- 
duces human  repentance,  and  as  that  repentance  is  a  good,  and 
leads  to  the  establishment  of  good  in  man,  it  is  a  most  appropriate 
expression,  under  such  a  circumstance,  to  signify  that  mercy. 
Moreover,  as  it  has  been  intimated,  that  disorderly  state  of  man 
which  needs  repentance,  causes  an  appearance  in  him,  when  it 
takes  place,  as  though  the  Lord  were  becoming  more  favorably 
disposed  towards  him ;  whereas,  the  real  truth  is,  that  man  is 
becoming  more  favorably  disposed  towards  the  Lord.  The  change 
is  in  man,  and  not  in  God. 

The  mercy  of  the  Lord,  consists  in  every  thing  which  he  does 
for  mankind,  to  relieve  them  from  darkness  and  distress.  When 
they  fall  into  disorders  and  transgression.  He  does  not  withdraw 
His  tenderness,  but  pitieth  and  regardeth  them  with  mercy.  The 
punishment  which  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  brings  upon 
themselves,  is  permitted  by  the  divine  mercy,  because,  thereby, 
evil  is  to  be  checked  and  removed,  and  good  developed  and  pro- 
moted. The  happiness  also,  which  is  enjoyed  by  the  faithful  and 
obedient,  is  the  result  of  the  divine  mercy,  because  the  Lord  is 
present  with  his  own  principles  in  them,  and  he  dwelleth  in  them. 
It  was  to  such  that  He  said,  "  the  Spirit  of  truth  dwelleth  with 
you,  and  shall  be  in  you."    (John  xiv.  17.) 

The  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  essential,  infinite,  and  active  good- 
ness. But  all  human  ideas  of  this  mercy,  are  formed  from  what 
^ve  know  of  this  principle  and  its  operations  among  mankind.  If 
men  did  not  form  their  ideas  of  the  divine  principles,  according  to 
their  own  apprehensions  of  them,  it  is  plain,  that  no  conception  at 
all  could  be  obtained  concerning  them,  and  in  that  case,  they 
would  be  left  without  instruction.  It  is  in  consequence  of  man's 
ideas  of  the  Lord's  infinite  principles,  bdng  formed  on  finite 
notions  of  them,  that  merely  human  and  finite  actions  are,  in  the 
Scriptures;  so  frequently  attributed  to  the  Lord.  He,  however,  is 
not  a  man,  that  He  should  repent ;  nevertheless,  He  is  a  God  that 
22* 


25S  ANTEDILUVUN    HISTOKr. 

i^ill  be  merciful,  and  when  He  is  said  to  repent,  it  is  a  declaration 
that  His  mercy  was  about  to  be  displayed. 

The  same  general  remarks  apply  to  the  sentence,  "and  it 
grieved  Him  at  His  heart."  The  Lord  cannot  grieve  on  account 
of  any  thing  that  He  may  have  done.  On  the  completion  of  His 
works,  it  is  written,  that  He  beheld  them  all,  and  pronounced  them 
to  be  very  good.  The  grief,  therefore,  which  is  predicated  of 
Him,  must  be  intended  to  express  the  interposition  of  His  mercy, 
at  a  time  when  its  blessedness  was  about  to  be  rejected  by  the 
perversities  of  men ;  and  thus  it  is  similar  to  his  repentance  ;  for 
repentance  includes  grief,  and  grief  indicates  repentance,  so  that 
both  terms  are  significant  of  the  divine  mercy,  yet  with  a  distinc- 
tion which  it  may  be  useful  to  explain. 

Although  divine  mercy  is  ever  active  for  the  benefit  of  men,  and 
is  unfolding  itself  in  a  thousand  forms  of  beneficence  and  use,  yet, 
upon  examination,  it  will  be  found  to  operate  in  a  twofold  manner, 
including  the  intelligence  of  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  clemency  of 
love.  Mercy,  without  the  intelligence  of  wisdom,  would  be  blind ; 
and  without  the  clemency  of  love,  it  would  be  cold.  Now,  it  is 
this  twofold,  or  distinctive  action,  of  the  divine  mercy,  which  are 
intended  to  be  expressed  by  the  repentance,  and  grief  at  heart, 
which  are  predicated  of  the  Lord.  By  repentance,  is  denoted,  that 
activity  of  the  divine  mercy,  in  which  wisdom  is  the  most  conspic- 
uous ;  and,  by  grief  at  heart,  that  in  which  love  is  the  most  distin- 
guished. The  divine  mercy,  indeed,  always  includes  the  activity 
of  these  principles,  in  tlieir  utmost  fulness ;  but  then,  both  of  them 
are  not  at  the  same  time  equally  prominent  with  their  recipients. 
Sometimes  one,  and  sometimes  the  other,  is  most  easily  observed. 
For  instance ;  in  the  blessings  of  peace,  which  may  have  been 
promoted  by  a  succession  of  wars,  we  at  once  recognize  the  love 
of  the  divine  mercy ;  but  the  wisdom  of  divine  mercy  is  not  so 
very  conspicuous  in  the  wars,  by  which  that  peace  may  have  been 
secured.  So,  we  can  see  the  love  of  the  divine  mercy  in  creation 
and  redemption ;  but  the  wisdom  of  the  divine  mercy  in  the  means 
is  not  so  evident.  We  perceive  that  there  is  love  in  the  divine 
mercy,  which  has  provided  and  declared,  that  there  is  a  heaven  for 
the  good  of  the  human  race ;  but  we  do  not  so  clearly  see  the 
wisdom,  by  which  it  has  become  necessary  to  surround  the  nature 
of  that  kingdom  with  some  obscurity.  Persons  who  are  rescued 
from  dangers,  or  the  perils  of  death,  are  said  to  be  previdentially 
saved.     The  love  of  the  divine  mercy,  in  such  cases,  is  very 


MERCY    OF    LOVE   AND    MERCY    OF    WISDOM.  259 

evident ;  but  the  wisdom  involved  in  it,  is  surrounded  with  haze 
and  mist,  particularly  when  others  are  known  to  have  perished  in 
the  same  calamity.  These  cases  show,  very  satisfactorily,  that  the 
wisdom  and  love,  which  are  included  in  the  divine  mercy,  are  vari- 
ously manifested,  according  to  the  varying  circumstances  in  which 
they  operate ;  and  consequently,  we  learn,  tliat  those  two  terms, 
repentance,  and  grief  at  heart,  are  significant  of  the  wisdom  and 
love,  which  are  always  included  in  the  activities  of  the  diviue 
mercy,  and  which,  in  the  circumstance  before  us,  are  very  evident. 

That  to  repent,  has  respect  to  the  wisdom  of  mercy,  and  that 
grief  at  heart,  has  reference  to  the  love  of  mercy,  may  also,  in 
some  measure,  appear  to  those  who  will  venture  to  reflect  a  little 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  expression..  In  that  case,  repentance 
will  be  found  to  be  an  affection  of  the  uifderstanding,  produced 
therein  by  the  implantation  of  truth,  when  errors  prevail ;  and  grief 
at  heart,  will  be  seen  to  be  a  sensation  of  the  will,  induced  therein 
by  the  insemination  of  good,  when  evils  are  urgent.  They  who 
receive  truth  into  their  understandings,  and  by  the  light  thereof, 
are  led  to  examine  and  acknowledge  the  disorders  of  their  life,  are 
in  a  condition  of  repentance ;  and  they  who  receive  good  into  their 
wills,  and  by  the  influences  thereof,  are  made  to  experience  the 
impurities  which  prevail,  are  in  a  condition  of  grief.  Both  con- 
ditions are  from  the  activity  of  the  divine  mercy,  though  there  is 
an  evident  distinction  between  them :  the  former  arising  from  the 
reception  of  truth,  and  the  latter  from  the  reception  of  goodness. 
So  that  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  signified  by  the  statement  of  His 
repentance,  consisted  in  the  manifestation  of  His  wisdom;  and 
that  which  is  denoted  by  His  grief  at  heart,  consisted  in  the  display 
of  His  love.  Hence,  for  the  Lord  to  repent  and  grieve  that  he  had 
made  man,  are  forms  of  expression,  which  mean,  that  the  divine 
mercy,  in  its  fulness,  was  now  about  to  become  conspicuous. 

And  was  it  not  so  ?  Did  not  the  Lord  interpose  for  the  preser- 
vation of  our  race  ?  Although  men  had  abandoned  themselves  to 
the  most  wicked  persuasions,  and  nad  destroyed  within  them,  the 
faculty  of  perceiving  what  was  good  and  true ;  notwithstanding 
they  had  voluntarily  brought  themselves  into  excesses  of  iniquity, 
and  were  upon  the  point  of  bringing  down  everlasting  destruction 
upon  the  human  race ;  yet,  the  divine  mercy  of  the  Lord  interposed 
to  hinder  the  catastrophe.  The  threatened  calamity  was  prevented, 
and  mankind  have  been  preserved.  This  could  not  have  been  the 
case,  if  tlie  Lord's  repentance  and  grief  that  he  had  made  man, 


260  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

meant,  what  a  superficial  understanding  of  the  phrases  seems  to 
imply.  He  surely  would  not  have  perpetuated  the  existence  of 
that  which  had  afflicted  him  with  regret  and  sorrow.  Man  remains, 
and  it  is  true  that  he  has  continued  to  live  in  evils,  but  then  the  evils 
are  not  of  God's  origination,  nor  are  they  perpetuated  by  Him ;  and 
therefore.  He  can  have  nothing  to  repent  of:  but  man,  having  both 
produced  the  evils,  and  continued  them,  has  become  a  perpetual 
subject  of  God's  mercy  ;  and  this  is  plainly  what  is  meant  by  those 
penitential  expressions.  The  interposition  of  God  for  the  purpose 
of  continuing  our  species,  at  a  period  when  mankind  had  sunk  so 
deeply  into  spiritual  wickedness,  evinces  most  conspicuously  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord,  both  in  its  wisdom  and  its  love.  Man  was  pre- 
served, not  to  perpetuate  the  evil,  but  that  he  might  have  the  op- 
portunity of  attaining  good  by  the  rejection  of  evil,  and  so  become 
the  recipient  of  God's  mercy. 

But,  while  it  is  evident  that  the  interposition  of  God,  for  the  per- 
petuation of  man  upon  the  earth,  was  an  act  of  divine  mercy ;  in 
what  did  that  interposition  consist  ?  It  could  not  have  been  an  act 
independently  of  the  state  of  man.  God  does  not  operate  among 
His  people  like  a  tyrant ;  He  acts  like  a  father,  and  pitieth  those 
who  fear  Hinj :  and  we  find,  that  there  yet  remained,  among  the 
last  posterity  of  this  profligate  people,  some  who  did  so.  "  Noah 
found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord ; "  and  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 
"  Thee  have  I  seen  righteous  before  me  in  this  generation."  (Gen. 
vi.  8 ;  vii.  1.)  These  statements  disclose  to  us  the  existence  of  a 
qualification  for  the  reception  of  the  divine  favors.  This  qualifi- 
cation consisted  in  a  capacity  for  the  understanding  of  truth,  when 
presented  in  a  form  suitable  to  man's  state.  He  could  no  longer 
be  approached  by  an  internal  way :  he  had  closed  the  interiors  of 
his  mind  against  those  celestial  influences,  which  had  originally 
reached  him  from  within,  and  therefore,  a  medium  for  approaching 
him,  by  instruction  from  without,  was  promised  and  provided  in  the 
covenant  that  was  about  to  be  established  with  Noah.  This,  as  a 
new  covenant,  consisted  in  a  new  method  of  communication  from 
God  to  man ;  in  the  adaptation  of  divine  truth  to  that  external  ca- 
pacity for  its  comprehension,  which  appears  to  have  been  retained 
among  the  people  called  Noah,  and  his  family,  and  signified  by  the 
statement,  that  he  found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord. 

The  human  race  have,  ever  since  that  period,  been  instructed  in 
tlie  things  of  faith,,  charity,  and  religion,  by  an  external  revelation ; 
tliat  IS,  a  revelation  partaking  of  a  documentary  character,  and 


NEW    COVENANT    A    NEW    COMMUNICATION.  261 

adapted  to  their  external  capacities  for  appreciation.  Thus,  at  the 
time  of  Noah,  the  mental  constitutions  of  the  people  were  different 
from  what  they  had  been  in  preceding  ages.  The  people  in  the 
better  times  of  those  ages,  enjoyed  perception ;  that  is,  an  internal 
impression  and  discernment  concerning  holy  and  heavenly  things : 
they  felt,  from  an  internal  dictate,  what  was  right  and  excellent ; 
and  this,  to  them,  was  instead  of  a  documentary  revelation.  But 
in  the  days  of  Noah,  this  state  perished,  and  then  that  new  method 
of  communication  with  man,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  was  begun. 
Hereby,  the  knowledges  of  religion  have  been  preserved,  and 
hereby  man  has  had  his  acquaintance  with  them  maintained,  and 
herein  all  may  see  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  —  a  mercy  manifested 
in  the  provisions  of  that  new  covenant,  —  that  new  characteristic 
of  revelation,  and  consequent  church,  by  which  so  important  a  re- 
sult has  been  accomplished.  Unless  there  be  a  communication 
kept  up  between  the  Lord  and  man,  man  must  perish.  It  may  vary 
m  its  form ;  it  may  be  by  an  internal  dictate  and  impression,  as  was 
the  case  with  Adam,  and  his  immediate  posterity ;  or,  it  may  be  by 
documentary  declarations,  as  it  has  been  in  subsequent  ages.  But 
its  existence,  in  some  form,  is  indispensable  to  the  perpetuation  of 
man.  And  it  was,  because  this  communication  had  ceased  with 
the  principal  part  of  the  people  of  the  later  antediluvian  periods, 
that  they  perished  in  the  catastrophe  called  the  flood.  And  here 
we  close  this  chapter.  We  have  endeavored  to  rescue  the  points 
which  have  been  handled,  from  the  marvellous  and  incomprehen- 
sible character  which  they  present  in  their  merely  literal  structure : 
and  we  have  shown,  that  in  their  esoteric  sense,  they  come  home 
to  a  reasonable  view  of  human  nature,  and  God's  dealings  with 
men,  and  so  commend  themselves  to  our  faith  in  them,  as  portions 
of  God's  Holy  Word. 

CHAPTER  XXL 

THE    ARK  —  NOAH    AND    HIS   FAMILY   ENTERING   INTO    IT  —  THE  BEASTS 
PRESERVED    THEREIN. 

•*  Those  who  have  written  professedly  and  largely  on  the  subject,  have 
been  at  great  pains  to  provide  for  all  the  existing  species  of  animals 
in  the  ark  of  Noah,  showing  how  they  might  be  distributed,  fed,  and 
otherwise  provided  for.  But  they  are  very  far  from  having  cleared  it 
of  all  its  difficulties  ;  which  are  much  greater  than  they,  in  their  general 
ignorance  of  natural  history, "were  aware  of."  —  Kitto's  Cyclopcedia  of 
Bib.  Lit.    Art.  Ark,  Noah. 

To  provide  for  the  continuation  of  mankind,  by  saving  some 


262  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

from  the  flood,  that  was  about  to  overwhehn  the  general  population 
of  the  antediluvian  world,  Noah  was  directed  to  make  an  ark  of 
certain  dimensions,  having  three  stories,  with  one  door  in  the  side, 
and  one  window  above,  to  the  whole ;  and  having  finished  what  was 
thus  commanded  him,  "  the  Lord  said  unto  him.  Come  thou  and  all 
thy  house  into  the  ark ;  for  thee  have  I  seen  righteous  before  me  in 
this  generation.  Of  every  clean  beast  thou  shalt  take  to  thee  by 
sevens,  the  male  and  his  female  :  of  beasts  that  are  not  clean  by 
two,  the  male  and  his  female  :  of  fowls  also  of  the  air  by  sevens, 
the  male  and  the  female  ;  to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  earth.  For 
yet  seven  days,  and  I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth  forty  days 
and  forty  nights,  and  every  living  substance  that  I  have  made,  will 
I  destroy  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth."  (Gen.  vii.  1-4.)  The  sub- 
jects announced,  in  the  literal  sense  of  this  history,  have  always  been 
considered  exceedingly  difficult  to  comprehend.  To  science  they 
appear  inexplicable  ;  to  religion  they  seem  miraculous.  For  ages 
they  have  been  placed  in  the  niches  of  a  misty  faith ;  and  the  effort 
to  understand  thejn,  has,  not  unfrequently,  been  denounced  as  infidel 
and  presumptuous.  Ecclesiastical  authorities  of  a  bygone  period, 
having  committed  themselves  to  a  certain  course  of  thinking  upon 
these  subjects,  succeeded  in  fastening  their  notions  of  them  upon 
the  minds  of  the  multitude  ;  and  their  descendants,  in  later  times, 
have  found  it  more  convenient  to  stigmatize  the  doubter  of  their 
views,  with  an  odious  name,  than  to  remove  his  scruples,  or  satisfy 
his  inquiries  with  information.  The  few  who  have  thought  upon 
the  popular  views  of  those  matters,  and  ventured  to  question  their 
accuracy,  have  been  treated  as  unfriendly  to  revelation,  by  the 
many  who  have  not  thought  at  all  upon  the  subjects.  The  popu- 
lace are  more  led  by  passion  than  by  reason,  and  they  are  too  fre- 
quently influenced  more  by  those  who  hold  offices  of  authority, 
than  by  the  dignity  of  their  own  thinking.  If  men  would  receive 
religious  knowledge,  and  improve  their  own  intellectual  condition, 
they  must  reflect  for  themselves.  It  is  that  which  they  make  their 
own,  by  an  effort  of  their  own  mind,  which  remains  and  endures 
with  them.  They  take  nothing  with  them  into  the  other  life,  which 
has  not  been  incorporated  into  their  affections  and  thoughts  during 
their  abode  below.  The  profession  to  believe  the  dogmata  of  faith, 
upon  the  authority  of  others,  is  not  a  belief  in  the  thing  proposed, 
but  in  the  persons  proposing ;  and  such  a  belief  is  rather  a  re- 
liance upon  man,  than  a  faith  in  God.  It  is  of  importance  that 
this  circumstance  should  be  reflected  on :  those  who  desire  wisdom, 


THE    ViJORD    OF    GOD   A    WORK    OF   GOD.  263 

"W-ill  do  so ;  those  who  prefer  to  remain  without  it,  will  culpably 
neglect  this  duty.  But  wisdom  is  not  to  be  moved  from  her  pedes- 
tal, by  the  clamor  of  ignorance.  She  looks  complacently  upon  the 
crowd  who  receive  a  certain  opinion,  for  no  other  reason  than  be- 
cause authority  has  propounded  it,  or,  that  their  fathers  believed 
it ;  and  she  is  ever  ready  to  afford  assistance  to  all,  who  wish  to 
form  their  faith  upon  a  holier  and  a  sounder  basis.  There  is  a 
great  distinction  between  believing  the  Scriptures,  and  believing 
what  men  have  said  are  contained  in  them.  It  is  well  known,  that 
some  authorities  have  declared  the  Word  to  contain  a  variety  of 
dogmata  for  the  faith  of  men,  which  other  tribunals,  of  equal  char- 
acter and  intellect,  have  not  been  able  to  discover.  But  it  does  not 
follow,  because  one  man  cannot  find  another  man's  conceit  in  the 
Bible,  that  therefore,  he  does  not  believe  in  it.  This,  however,  is 
what  prejudice  and  clamor  would  lead  the  multitude  to  think.  The 
Bible  may  be  fully  believed  to  be  the  Word  of  God,  although  cer- 
tain views  which  men  have  taken  of  its  statements,  may  be  intelli- 
gently and  conscientiously  rejected.  The  Bible,  and  men's  inter- 
pretations of  it,  are,  very  frequently,  two  different  things.  In  many 
points,  they  have  been  so  for  several  ages.  Conjectures  and  in- 
genious speculations,  are  among  the  chief  sources  through  which 
the  difficult  narratives  of  revelation  are  commonly  explained. 
This  is  the  origin  of  those  various  opinions  concerning  them,  which 
the  differing  sections  of  Christianity  prove  to  exist.  For  a  long 
period,  men  have  not  suspected  that  the  Scriptures  are  written 
according  to  a  fixed  law.  It  seems  to  have  been  overlooked,  that 
the  Word  of  God  was  a  work  of  God,  and  that  therefore,  like  all 
other  of  his  works,  it  must  have  been  constructed  on  some  fixed 
principles.  This,  however,  is  the  case  ;  and  it  must  be  so,  if  it  be 
the  Word  of  God :  and  it  can  no  more  be  accurately  interpreted, 
without  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  and  principles  of  its  composition, 
than  the  works  of  God  in  the  stellar  universe,  can  be  explained, 
without  an  acquaintance  with  the  laws  and  mathematics  of  grav- 
itation. 

The  nature,  objects,  and  phenomena  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, are  the  appropriate  symbols  of  spiritual  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions pertaining  to  man ;  and  it  is  those  spiritual  things,  which 
these  natural  descriptions  are  intended  to  reveal.  The  world  of 
matter  is  an  emblem  of  the  world  of  mind,  and  God  has  chosen 
the  former,  as  the  means  for  disclosing  the  facts  and  circumstances 
relating  to  the  latter.     Some  portion  of  the  letter  of  the  Scrip- 


264  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

tures  consists  of  national  history,  as  is  the  case  with  what  is  said 
of  the  Jewish  nation  ;  but  there  are  cases  of  emblematical  history 
merely,  the  chief  of  which  is  that  portion  of  the  Word,  which  pre- 
cedes the  time  of  Eber,  mentioned  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Genesis..  We  discriminate  between  the  actual  and  the  emblem- 
atical history,  btit  regard  both  to  be  of  like  weight  and  authority, 
as  to  their  divine  origination  and  spiritual  purpose.  The  narrative 
of  the  flood,  and  all  the  particulars  that  are  grouped  therewith,  we 
look  upon  as  factitious  history  only,  embodying,  indeed,  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  and  intended  to  make  known  certain  moral  and 
spiritual  events,  connected  with  the  corruption  of  an  ancient  peo- 
ple. We  receive  the  narrative  as  one  which  has  been  produced 
under  the  divine  superintendence  and  direction.  We  cherish  it 
as  a  portion  of  God's  revelation  to  man.  But  we  do  not  believe 
that  literal  interpretation,  which  has  long  prevailed  concerning  it. 
We  do  not  mistake  the  figurative  terms  for  the  real  meaning, 
which  is  the  common  and  popular  course.  We  discriminate 
between  the  figure  and  the  thing  which  is  signified.  It  is  ad- 
mitted, by  all  candid  minds,  that  the  subject  of  the  ark,  with  its 
remarkable  contents,  presents  very  embarrassing  ideas  to  a  rational 
understanding.  Much  labor,  and  some  ingenuity,  have  been  em- 
ployed in  the  attempt  to  explain  the  arrangements  of  the  ark,  so 
as  to  adapt  it  for  the  reception  of  seven  pairs  of  clean  animals, 
and  two  of  the  unclean,  of  all  the  earth,  besides  the  room  neces-. 
sary  for  eight  human  beings,  and  stowage  for  food  requisite  for 
upwards  of  twelve  months'  sustenance.*  The  success  has  not 
been  equal  to  the  exertions.  Nor  has  it  ever  been  shown,  how 
eight  persons  could  keep  in  order,  feed,  and  water  such  an  im- 
mense number  of  inmates.  Moreover,  if  the  ark  had  been  a 
natural  ship,  the  closing  of  the  window  and  the  door  (tliere  was 
but  one  of  each)  for  so  many  months,  must  have  effectually  pre- 
vented the  admission  of  air,  which  is  now  known  to  be  so  essen- 
tially necessary  for  the  preservation  of  health  and  life ;  and  the 
respiration  of  the  multitude  of  inmates  must  have  completely  viti- 
ated that  which  was  within.  How  then  did  they  survive  ?  Up- 
wards of  a  hundred  men  have  been  known  to  perish  in  a  few 
hours,  in  consequence  of  being  confined  in  a  small  building,  to 
which  a  sufficient  quantity  of  air  could  not  gain  access.f    And  it 

*  Bishop  "Wilkins.      Essay  towards  a   Philosophical  Character  and 
Language, 
t  When  Calcutta  was  attacked  by  Suraja  ud  Dowlah,  the  viceroy  of 


THE   ARK   AS    A    SHIP,   AND    SANITARY    SCIENCE.         265 

was  only  the  other  day,  that  a  similar  calamity  occurred  to  a  num- 
ber of  passengers  in  a  ship,  from  the  like  cause.  How  was  it, 
then,  that  Noah,  his  family,  and  the  numerous  beasts,  were  en- 
abled to  live  under  such  unfavorable  circumstances  ?  We  do  not 
read  of  any  provision  having  been  made  for  ventilation ;  which 
must  have  been  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve  the  lives  ofthose 
within.  Thus,  sanitary  science  suggests  new  difficulties  in  the 
inquiry. 

But  the  dimensions  of  the  ark  do  not  afford  sufficient  room  for 
the  accommodation  of  all  the  animals  of  the  earth.  Those  who 
have  supposed  there  was  space  enough,  have  considerably  under- 
rated the  number  of  the  species  to  be  provided  for :  *  they  have, 
also,  overlooked  many  other  circumstances,  which  a  true  solution 
of  the  problem  requires  to  be  carefully  remembered.  Three  or 
four  hundred  species  is  the  most  that  have  ever  been  calculated 
for ;  whereas,  of  mammalia  alone,  there  are  more  than  a  thousand 
species  ;  of  birds,  fully  five  thousand,  besides  reptiles,  of  which 
there  are  upwards  of  two  thousand  species,  that  cannot  live  in 
water,  and  at  least  a  hundred  thousand  insects,  besides  millions  of 
animalcula.  The"  size  of  the  ark  was  evidently  inadequate  to 
stable  them ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  see,  how  eight  persons  could  have 
attended  to  them.  The  difficulties  attending  the  collection  of  the 
mammalia  and  birds  alone,  from  the  various  regions  of  the  earth, 
and  introducing  them  into  the  ark,  with  their  necessary  provision, 
are  quite  sufficient  to  suggest  that  there  is  some  very  considerable 
error  in  the  current  belief  upon  this  subject.  The  best  writers 
have  been  led  to  abandon  the  idea,  that  species  of  animals  of  all 
the  earth  were  collected  in  the  ark,  and  to  suppose  that  they  were 

Bengal,  in  1756,  the  English  factory,  which  had  been  removed  from 
Hoogly,  and  established  there,  was  deserted  by  the  governor,  the  com- 
mandant, and  many  other  European  functionaries  and  residents.  On  the 
capture  of  the  place,  the  Enghsh  who  had  remained  to  defend  the  factory, 
were  thrust  into  a  small  unwholesome  dungeon,  called  the  Black  Hole, 
and  of  146  individuals  who  were  thus  shut  up  at  night,  only  23  •^ere  found 
alive  in  the  morning.  The  cause  of  this  frightful  circumstance,  was  the 
presence  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  produced  by  respiration,  and  other  means, 
for  which  there  was  no  escape,  nor  any  sufficient  aperture  for  the  admis- 
sion of  fresh  air. 

*  Le  Pelletier,  a  merchant  of  Rouen,  proposed,  towards  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  a  plan  for  building  a  vessel  in  which  all  kinds  of  animals 
might  be  included  and  maintained  for  a  year. 
23 


266  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

only  such  as  inhabited  the  regions  where  man  was  located.* 
These,  indeed,  are  concessions  to  science  and  enlightened  in- 
quiry; and  further  investigation  will  show  it  to  be  requisite,  to 
take  an  entirely  different  view  of  the  whole  subject. 

Those  who  receive  the  literal  sense  merely,  have  an  easy  method 
for  removing  objections.  They  say  that  God,  who  can  do  every 
thing,  could  have  had  no  difficulty  in  providing  against  those  things 
which  may  seem  obstacles  to  science,  reason,  or  philosophy.  They 
assert,  that  the  whole  affair  must  have  been  easy  to  Him,  to  whom 
all  things  are  possible.  Of  course,  this  silences  inquiry;  and 
there  is  no  arguing  with  those  who  will  not  reason.  We  do  not 
address  ourselves  to  such.  They  who  admit  those  principles,  de- 
prive themselves  of  all  ground  for  resisting  the  belief  of  any  phys- 
ical extravagance  that  may  be  propounded  to  them.  They  are 
neither  favorable  to  sound  piety  or  intelligence,  and  they  close 
the  mind  against  a  candid  investigation  and  fair  comprehension, 
of  what  God  has  said  in  his  Word.  This  is  contrary  to  the  benev- 
olent design  of  Him  who  said,  "  Come,  let  us  reason  together." 
(Isaiah  i.  18.) 

To  avoid  those  difficulties,  and  to  obtain  a  clearer  insight  into 
the  meaning  of  this  remarkable  history,  we  must  remember  a  point 
which  has  been  attempted  to  be  set  forth  in  a  preceding  chapter, 
namely,  that  with  the  Noetic  people,  the  understanding  was  sepa- 
rated from  the  will,  by  which  means  they  became  admissive  of  ex- 
ternal instruction  concerning  spiritual  and  religious  things,  and  so 
found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  and  became  the  subjects  of 
His  covenant.  The  internal  channels  of  immediate  communica- 
tion from  the  Lord,  had  been  closed,  by  the  corruption  of  the  will. 
When  this  took  place,  the  understanding  was  mercifully  separated 
from  the  will,  in  order  to  provide  a  medium  of  access  to  the  inte- 
riors of  the  mind,  through  instruction  presented  from  without. 
This  was  a  new  condition  in  man's  mental  structure,  which  has 
ever  since  been  faithfully  preserved  in  him.  Hence,  a  new  form  of 
divine  communication  was  adopted,  and  spoken  of  as  the  covenant 
that  was  to  be  established  with  Noah  and  with  his  seed  after  him, 
and  with  every  living  creature  that  was  Avith  him.  (Gen.  ix.  9, 10.) 
Remembering  this  point,  we  shall  at  once  be  prepared  to  enter  into 
the  meaning  of  the  command,  "  Make  thee  an  ark  of  gopher  wood ; 

*  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  Bishop  Stillingfieet,  Matt.  Poole,  Le  Clerc,  Rozen- 
moller,  &c.  &c. 


WHY   DID    NOT    OTHERS    TAKE    REFUGE    IN    THE    ARK  ?      267 

rooms  shalt  thou  make  in  the  ark,  and  shalt  pitch  it  within  and 
without  with  pitch."  (Gen.  vi.  14.)  We  consider  this  direction 
to  refer  to  the  construction  of  a  certain  state  of  the  human  mind, 
and  the  orderly  arrangement  of  its  internal  principles,  through 
which  a  church  might  exist,  and  by  which,  preservation  from  evil, 
and  the  reception  of  good,  was  to  be  provided  for ;  and  not  to  the 
building  of  a  wooden  vessel.  If  this  had  been  the  case,  the  pur- 
pose of  such  an  erection  could  not  have  been  concealed.  It  was 
an  extraordinary  undertaking,  requiring  for  its  execution  a  large 
number  of  hands,  and  no  inconsiderable  pecuniary  resources,  to 
procure  the  materials,  and  reward  the  labor ;  it  therefore,  must 
have  excited  curiosity  and  inquiry.  Noah  did  not  receive  any 
instruction  to  conceal  the  knowledge  of  the  predicted  flood  from 
the  people,  nor  the  means  which  he  had  been  commanded  to  adopt 
for  his  own  safety ;  and  therefore,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that 
the  purpose  of  the  erection  must  have  obtained  extensive  publicity. 
How  is  it,  then,  that  we  do  not  find  the  slightest  intimation  of  other 
parties  endeavoring  to  save  themselves  from  the  impending  catas- 
trophe, by  building  vessels  for  the  purpose  ?  It  may  be  replied  ; 
although  tliey  might  have  been  made  acquainted  with  the  predic- 
tion of  the  approaching  flood,  that  their  evil  lives  prevented  them 
from  having  any  faith  in  its  realization ;  and  the  Lord's  observa- 
tion, "  They  knew  not  until  the  flood  came  and  took  them  all 
away,"  may  be  adduced  as  the  evidence  of-  such  unbelief;  and 
this,  it  may  be  argued,  was  the  reason  why  they  did  not  make  any 
provision  for  their  safety.  Be  it  so ;  and  one  objection  is  removed. 
The  love  of  life,  however,  is  very  ardent,  even  among  the  most 
abandoned,  and  if  it  were  known  to  them  (and  this  can  hardly  be 
doubted)  that  a  vessel  had  been  built  to  save  a  certain  family  from 
an  approaching  flood,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that,  upon  the 
rising  of  the  waters,  they  would  have  become  alarmed,  and  instantly 
have  betaken  themselves  to  the  ark  for  safety.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, they  would  not  have  been  deterred  by  any  delicacy 
about  entering  another  man's  property ;  and  if  room  were  wanted 
for  their  accommodation,  it  is  not  likely  that  they  would  have 
hesitated  to  make  it,  by  removing  some  of  the  animals  and  their 
provender.  Human  life  is  more  precious  than  the  beasts,  and  its 
preservation  would  be  chiefly  aimed  at :  nor  would  the  owner  of 
such  a  vessel  have  thrust  them  away  ii)  such  an  effort,  if  he  had 
been  a  good  man.  This  we  say  is  a  highly  reasonable  view  of 
the  case,  supposing  the  ark  to  have  been  a  natural  vessel.     The 


268  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

dismay  which  must  have  overtaken  the  inhabitants,  it  is  not  easy 
to  imagine :  the  horror  which  must  have  distressed  the  living,  and 
the  agonizing  shrieks  that  would  have  proceeded  from  the  dying, 
must  have  been  exquisitely  frightful :  and  surely,  such  circum- 
'  stances  must  have  constituted  the  very  terror  of  the  story,  if  it 
had  been  a  physical  occurrence :  and  yet  there  is  not  the  slightest 
intimation  concerning  them.  It  is  not  easy  to  conceive  a  reason 
for  omitting  such  descriptions,  nor  do  we  think  they  would  have 
been  left  out,  if  the  event  had  been  such  as  it  is  currently  sup- 


Doubtless  the  Lord  said,  "  As  the  days  of  Noe  were,  so  shall 
also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be.  For  as  in  the  days  that 
were  before  the  flood,  they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and 
giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  ark, 
and  knew  not  until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all  away ;  so 
shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be."  (Matt.  xxiv.  37  -  39.) 
But  the  "ark"  and  "flood,"  mentioned  in  this  passage,  are  no 
proofs  that  they  were  natural  things.  To  regard  them  as  repre- 
senting certain  spiritual  things  pertaining  to  the  mind,  answers  all 
the  purposes  of  the  argument  they  are  introduced  in  the  gospel  to 
sustain.  To  say  that  they  were  spiritual  things,  is  not  to  say  tliat 
they  were  less  real.  The  mere  circumstance  of  mentioning  "  Noe," 
the  "  flood,"  and  "  the  ark,"  offfers  no  explanation  of  the  subject, 
and  therefore,  the  ideas  and  facts  which  they  were  employed  to 
express  in  the  original  narrative,  are  precisely  those  to  which  the 
Lord  referred.  The  plain  scope  of  the  passage  is,  to  show  that 
the  state  of  mankind,  at  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  would  be 
similar  to  that  which  preceded  the  entrance  of  Noe  into  the  ark, 
the  comparison  instituted  is  between  the  two  states  of  mankind ; 
and  the  revelation  made  is,  that  the  spiritual  life  of  religion  always 
perishes  by  similar  means  ;  namely,  by  yielding  to  the  love  of  self 
and  the  world,  and  neglecting  God  and  heaven.  The  means  by 
which  this  life  perishes  with  some,  and  is  preserved  with  others, 
are  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures,  under  a  variety  of  figures.  Thus, 
the  means  which  destroyed  the  spiritual  life  of  religion  with  the 
antediluvians,  is  described  to  have  been  a  flood ;  the  means  by 
which  it  was  to  be  preserved  with  Noah,  is  represented  by  his 
entering  into  an  ark.  That  by  which  it  was  extinguished  witli  the 
inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  was  "  brimstone  and  fire," 
but  that  by  which  Lot  and  his  family  were  saved  from  the  confla- 
gration, was  the  instruction  and  guidance  of  two  angels.    (Gen. 


HOW   SPIRITUAL   LIFE   PERISHES.  269 

xix.  16  -  23.)  So  the  means  by  which  it  will  perish  with  some, 
under  the  Christian  dispensation,  are  described  as  the  darkening 
of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  falling  of  the  stars ;  whereas,  its  pres- 
ervation with  others,  is  to  be  accomplished  by  their  seeing  the 
Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great 
glory.  There  is,  then,  nothing  in  the  above  passage  inimical  to 
the  view  we  are  taking  of  the  general  subject. 

If  the  ark,  and  the  particulars  which  are  related  of  it,  had  no 
Other  signification  than  what  the  letter  presents,  there  would  be 
nothing  at  all  religious  or  spiritual  in  the  account  of  them ;  and 
consequently,  they  would  be  of  no  more  value  to  mankind  than  a 
similar  history  composed  by  profane  writers,  in  which  case  it  would 
be  a  kind  of  dead  letter.  But  these  are  ideas  which  cannot  attach 
to  any  portion  of  the  Lord's  Word  ;  and  therefore,  the  ark,  with 
its  construction  and  arrangements,  must  refer  to  something  that  is 
spiritual  and  living  —  something  pertaining  to  the  mind  and  soul 
of  man,  rather  than  to  his  body  and  the  world. 

The  literal  sense  of  the  narrative  is  not  sufficiently  clear,  to 
have  led  the  "  orthodox "  to  any  settled  opinion  concerning  the 
form  and  materials  of  the  ark.  The  word  here  employed  for  the 
ark  is  not  aron,  which  is  used  to  express  the  ark  of  the  covenant, 
but  tebath ;  and  it  is  used  only  of  the  Noetic  vessel,  and  that  in 
which  Moses  was  preserved.  (Exod.  ii.  3,  5.)  Hence  Dr.  Geddes, 
(see  his  Critical  Remarks,  pp.  67,  68 ;)  and  others,  have  supposed, 
that  it  was  a  large  coffer  formed  of  twigs,  like  basket  work !  and 
covered  over  with  bitumen,  both  within  and  without,  to  keep  out 
the  water.  The  Greek  speaks  of  its  material  as  ex  ^vXcov  tstqcc- 
ytovcop  [ck  xvlon  tetragonon,)  of  square  boards  ;  Jerome,  in  the 
Vulgate,  calls  it  "  planed  wood,"  and  "  pitched  wood ; "  and  sev- 
eral other  commentators  have  imagined  that  it  was  built  of  several 
sorts  of  wood,  although  only  one  is  expressly  named.  Thus,  even 
those  who  abide  in  the  letter,  do  not  seem  to  know  what  the  letter 
means.  A  popular  opinion  respecting  its  form,  as  presented  in 
"  orthodox  "  pictures,  is,  that  it  was  a  kind  of  house  erected  in  a 
boat ;  for  which  idea,  however,  there  is  no  foundation  in  the  nar- 
rative. There  is  nothing  about  the  description,  to  suggest  that  it 
was  a  regularly  built  vessel,  and  all  that  is  fairly  to  be  inferred 
from  the  evidence  of  the  letter  is,  that  it  was  a  building  of  a  cer- 
tain wood,  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram.  But  what  is  the  mean- 
ing of  such  descriptions  ? 

We  conceive  them  to  refer  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  church, 
23* 


270  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

for  which  the  people  under  the  name  of  Noah,  were  instructed  to 
prepare.  The  Adamic  church,  as^  a  celestial  dispensation,  was 
about  to  perish,  and  now  the  Noetic  church,  as  a  spiritual  dispen- 
sation, was  to  be  developed.  This  new  church,  of  course,  implied 
a  new  state  of  mind  on  the  part  of  those  who  were  the  recip- 
ients of  its  principles.  Every  one  sees,  that  the  church  is  as  an 
ark,  in  which  men  are  to  be  saved  from  spiritual  perils ;  and  also, 
that  the  church,  which  so  saves,  is  a  state  of  the  affections  and 
thoughts  implanted  in  the  mind.  The  state  of  the  church,  and 
the  state  of  the  mind,  run  parallel  to  each  other.  As  the  mind 
sinks  down,  by  corrupting  loves,  the  church  declines :  as  the  mind 
improves,  by  heavenly  delights,  the  church  advances :  so  that, 
whether  we  speak  of  a  new  church,  or  of  a  new  state  of  mind,  as 
being  represented  by  the  ark,  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing :  for 
man  is  a  church,  in  consequence  of  his  mind  being  imbued  with 
its  principles. 

The  mind,  considered  as  a  faculty,  consists  of  will  and  under- 
standing :  of  will,  to  love  what  is  good ;  of  understanding,  to  com- 
prehend what  is  true.  These  have  been  the  characteristics  of 
mind  in  all  ages  posterior  to  the  time  of  Noah ;  but  it  was  with 
that  people  with  whom  these  two  principles  first  came  into  distinct 
activity ;  and  the  command  given  them  to  make  the  ark,  under  the 
perilous  circumstances  which  surrounded  them,  has  some  practical 
bearing  upon  a  like  duty,  in  all  subsequent  times.  The  mind  of 
man  is  a  spiritual  vessel,  created  with  capacities  for  the  reception 
and  preservation  of  the  spiritual  and  celestial  things  of  religious 
life.  This  capability  of  the  mind,  under  this  new  condition  of  its 
existence,  was  now  to  be  tested  and  developed :  but  this  was  no 
ordinary  work.  The  formation  of  the  mind,  considered  as  a  fac- 
ulty, with  the  use  for  which  it  is  designed,  is  the  act  by  which  it 
becomes  a  mind  properly :  and  the  building  up  of  this  ark,  so  as 
to  render  it  a  safe  vessel  in  times  of  storm  and  peril,  requires  much 
care,  instruction,  and  time.  This  is  implied  in  the  directions 
which  were  given  to  Noah,  and  in  the  period  which  elapsed  be- 
fore they  were  completed. 

But  this  ark  was  to  be  of  certain  dimensions,  and  to  be  made  of 
gopher  wood,  pitched  within  and  without.  These  particulars  are 
stated,  to  represent  the  several  means  which  were  to  be  adopted, 
in  order  to  render  the  mind  a  safe  and  effectual  medium,  for  the 
right  development  of  that  new  covenant,  which  was  then  about  to 
be  established. 


SIGNIFICATION    OF   WOODS.  271 

The  kind  of  wood  denominated,  gopher^  has  not  been  satisfacto- 
rily ascertained.  It  is  a  problem  for  the  Biblical  student.  On  the 
assumption  of  its  having  been  a  natural  production,  the  name  lias 
been  supposed  to  designate  a  species  of  the  pine,  or  perhaps,  to 
denote  several  species  of  it,  which  yielded  resin  and  other  easily 
inflammable  matter,  because  it  is  thought  that  they  were  abun- 
dantly produced  in  the  locality,  where  the  ark  is  considered  to 
have  been  erected.  Dr.  Geddes  thought  that  it  must  have  been 
the  osier;*  Dr.  Mather  conjectured,  that  it  was  the  juniperus 
arbor  tetragonophyllos,  frequent  in  the  East  Indies.f  The  Chaldee 
version  regards  it  to  have  been  the  cedar;  the  Arabic  version  trans- 
lates it  saj,  which  is  considered  to  mean  the  teak,  and  others,  as 
the  Vulgate  say,  it.  was  the  cypress.].  Here,  then,  are  plenty  of 
conjectures,  and  very  much  learning  has  been  employed  to  uphold 
the  respective  views.  Still  it  is  an  open  question ;  and,  although 
the  progress  of  science  may  conduce  to  the  discovery  of  something 
more  decided  upon  the  subject,  than  what  at  present  exists,  that 
will  not  derogate  from  the  fact  of  its  having  been  mentioned 
chiefly  for  a  representative  purpose.  Gopher  is  the  original  He- 
brew word,  without  any  attempt  to  translate  it,  and  this  is  the 
only  instance  in  which  it  occurs  throughout  the  whole  Scriptures  ; 
and  this  wood  is  here  mentioned,  for  the  purpose  of  signifying  a 
mental  condition,  which  now  became  conspicuous  among  the 
Noetic  people. 

It  is  well  known,  as  a  general  idea,  that  the  ancients  compared 
the  internal  things  of  orderly  men  to  gold,  silver,  bi'o^s,  iron,  stone, 
and  wood :  but  it  has  not  been  so  frequently  observed,  that  such 
comparisons  were  adapted  to  signify  different  states  of  the  mind : 
thus,  that  the  good  things  of  the  will  were  likened  to  gold,  brass, 
and  wood :  and  the  true  things  of  the  understanding,  to  silver,  iron, 
and  stone.  Of  this  the  prophet  furnishes  us  with  a  remarkable 
example.  "  For  bra^s  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for  iron,  I  will  bring 
silver,  and  for  wood,  brass,  and  for  stone,  iron.  (Isaiah  Ix.  17.) 
Here,  by  bringing  gold  for  brass,  and  brass  for  wood,  plainly  de- 
notes, to  supply  the  will  of  those  who  are  being  "born  again," 

*  Critical  Remarks,  p.  67,  68.  f  Abr.  Phil.  Trans,  vol.  vi.  p.  86. 

X  Rosenmuller  was  of  this  opinion.  He  considers  the  word,  gopher,  to 
have  become  obsolete  and  fallen  into  disuse  among  the  later  Hebrews  ; 
and  shows,  that  the  radical  consonants  in  "gopher"  and  "cypress"  are 
substantially  the  same  ;  he  also  thinks  it  probable,  that  the  words  signify, 
etymologically,  "a  resinous  wood." — Mhieralogy  and  Botany  of  the 
Bible.     Art.  Gopher. 


272  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

with  superior  good  for  the  inferior ;  and  that  to  bring  silver  for 
iron,  and  iron  for  stone,  signifies,  to  supply  the  understanding 
of  those  who  are  regenerating,  with  superior  truths  for  such  as 
are  inferior.  Thus,  wood  in  general,  denotes  the  lowest  degree 
of  good  pertaining  to  the  will,  which  may  be  called  corporeal: 
precious  woods,  as  the  cedar  and  the  like,  signify  goods  of  a 
higher  quality :  the  cedar  used  in  the  temple  [1  Kings  v.  8,)  had 
this  signification,  so  also  had  that  which  was  employed  in  cleans- 
ing the  leprosy  :  (Lev.  xiv.  4,  6,  7 :)  also,  that  wood,  by  which  the 
bitter  waters  of  Marah  were  sweetened.  (Exod.  xv.  25.)  But 
woods,  which  were  not  precious,  and  which  were  made  into  graven 
images,*  and  applied  to  the  making  of  funeral  piles,  (Isaiah  xxx. 
33,)  signify  cupidities,  and  among  these  are  to  be  classed  the 
woods  of  gopher. 

This  wood,  then,  is  named,  to  signify  that  peculiar  concupis- 
cence, by  which  the  Noetic  people  were  distinguished,  and  from 
which  they  were  directed  to  construct  the  ark ;  or,  what  amounts 
to  the  same  idea,  to  build  up  their  mind,  so  that  it  should  be  as  a 
vessel  fitted  for  the  reception  and  preservation  of  spiritual  things. 

If  it  be  asked.  How  concupiscence  can  afford  the  materials  for 
such  a  result?  we  answer,  That  it  does  so,  much  in  the  same  way, 
that  men  who  are  altogether  evil,  can  become  regenerate.  They 
possessed  remains,  and  the  capability  to  evolve  them.  Men,  at  the 
commencement  of  their  regeneration,  do  not  listen  to  spiritual 
instruction  and  religious  duties,  for  the  sake  of  their  intrinsic 
excellence  ;  but  because  they  either  afford  gratification  to  the 
intellect,  or,  because  they  furnish  information,  by  which  to  avoid 
something  that  may  be  dangerous  to  self:  in  either  case,  some 
advantage  will  be  gained :  and  all  the  early  states  of  man's  re- 
ligious improvement  are  more  or  less  built  up  from  some  personal 
and  selfish  consideration ;  and  so  from  his  concupiscence.  He 
wishes  to  avoid  some  danger,  or  procure  some  blessing ;  but  the 
early  efforts  to  secure  these  things,  will,  upon  examination,  be 
found  to  arise  from  something  that  is  low  and  selfish.  As,  then, 
the  Noetians  were  a  fallen  people,  who  were  about  to  be  regene- 
rated, we  may  readily  see  why  they  were  directed  to  make  an  ark 
of  gopher  wood.     Concupiscence  was  the  readiest  and  most  abun- 

*  "  Among  the  trees,  of  whose  timber  idols  were  formed,  mention  is 
made,  in  Isaiah  xliv.  14,  of  the  Oren,  by  which,  both  the  oldest  Greek 
and  the  oldest  Latin  translators,  understood  the  pine  tree." — Roscn- 
tnuller.     Botany  of  the  Bible.    Art.  Pine  Tree. 


THE    PITCHING    OF    THE    ARK.  273 

dant  material  of  which  they  could  command  the  use ;  but,  being 
directed  to  religious  inquiries  and  purposes,  it,  under  the  Divine 
Providence,  resulted  in  safety.  It  was  making  friends  of  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness,  in  order  to  be  received  into  everlast- 
ing habitations.  (Luke  xvi.  9.)  But  the  state  of  mind  so  pro- 
duced, admitted,  not  only  the  clean,  but  also,  the  unclean  beasts 
and  fowl :  it  was  also  liable  to  grievous  temptation,  but  when  these 
were  experienced  and  overcome,  the  ark,  which  had  been  con- 
structed of  such  materials,  was  abandoned,  and  we  read  no  more 
about  it. 

It  was  commanded,  that  the  ark  should  be  pitched  within  and 
without,  to  point  out  the  care  that  was  to  be  exercised  in  prevent- 
ing falses  from  entering  into  the  mind,  either  by  impure  excite- 
ment from  without,  or  by  seducing  impulses  from  within.  The 
original  text  does  not  say,  that  it  should  be  pitched  with  pitch, 
but,  an  expression  is  employed,  which  denotes  preservation,*  and 
it  has  only  been  so  translated,  in  consequence  of  its  supposed 
relation  to  a  natural  ark.  The  pitching  is  representative  of  pres- 
ervation, on  the  ground  of  its  natural  use  being  to  exclude  both 
the  entrance  and  emission  of  all  such  waters  as  would  endanger 
personal  safety.  It  thus  denotes,  that  means  were  to  be  employed, 
by  which  the  mind  was  to  be  preserved  from  the  inflowings  of 
those  false  persuasions,  which  would  cause  it  to  sink  and  perish. 

The  various  measurements  of  the  ark,  were  intended  to  denote 
the  several  qualities  which  were  to  distinguish  the  mind,  in  the 
progress  of  its  erection,  or  development,  into  a  saving  condition. 
Similar  to  the  dimensions  which  are  given  of  the  tabernacle,  the 
temple,  the  mercy-seat,  the  altar,  and  especially,  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, which  is  said  to  be  the  measure  of  a  man :  whence  it  is 
evident,  that  such  measurements  denote  the  extent  of  mental  con- 
dition, in  reference  to  the  things  of  the  church.  Thus,  the  length 
of  the  ark,  had  reference  to  the  quality  of  good  which  should  exist 
in  the  will,  the  breadth  of  it,  to  the  extent  of  truth  in  the  under- 
standing, and  the  height  of  it,  to  the  elevated  origin  of  these  good 
things,  which  is  the  Lord.  Every  one  may  see,  that  such  particu- 
lars concerning  the  ark,  are  given  with  a  view  to  their  spiritual 
import,  because  they  have  no  natural  or  scientific  vajue,  and  also, 
because,  without  such  a  signification,  they  would  be  of  no  religious 

*  "It  is  derived  from  the  verb,  to  expiate,  or  propitiate,  wherefore,  the 
same  sense  is  implied;  the  Lord's  expiation,  o»  propitiation,  is  protection 
from  the  overflowing  of  evil."  —  A7-ca7ia  Ccclestia,  n.  645. 


274  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

use  to  mankind.  But,  by  drawing  aside  the  curtain  of  the  letter, 
and  looking  into  the  spiritual  sense,  we  at  once  discover  the  pres- 
ence of  a  divine  principle,  and  recognize  its  instructive  purpose. 
The  spiritual  sense  raises  us  into  the  intellectual  world :  the  letter 
perplexes,  and  produces  doubts,  which  vanish  on  the  approach  of 
spiritual  light.  How  beautifully  true  is  the  apostolic  declaration, 
"  The  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life."     [2  Cor.  iii.  6.) 

But  while  all  the  details,  respecting  the  construction  of  the  ark, 
signify  particular  circumstances  connected  with  the  human  mind, 
during  the  process  of  its  reformation  and  preparation  for  the 
reception  of  spiritual  and  heavenly  things,  yet  the  popular  view 
we  are  solicitous  of  presenting,  requires  that  we  should  dwell 
mostly  on  the  more  general  description.  For  instance,  the  ark 
was  to  have  "  rooms,"  "  a  window  above,"  "  a  door  in  the  side, 
with  lower,  second,  and  third  stories."     (Gen.  vi.  14,  16.) 

Inasmuch  as  the  ark  is  mentioned,  to  represent  a  certain  state 
of  the  human  mind,  which  was  to  be  built  up  as  a  means  of  deliv- 
erance from  the  ills,  which  threatened  desolation  to  surrounding 
society,  it  will  follow,  that  the  rooms  in  that  ark  denote  the  two 
faculties  of  will  and  understanding.  These,  however,  are  very 
general  distinctions,  each  of  which  is  arranged  into  a  variety  of 
others.  The  division  of  the  intellectual  sentiments,  which  belong 
to  the  understanding,  and  the  distinction  of  moral  affections,  which 
pertain  to  the  Avill,  are  very  numerous.  Thus,  the  rooms  in  the 
ark,  denote  all  those  varieties  of  intellectual  and  moral  principles, 
which  take  place  with  man  during '  the  progress  of  his  regenera- 
tion ;  the  numerous  species  of  goodness  and  truth  occupy  their 
respective  positions  in  the  mind,  each  of  Avhich  is  as  a  room  for 
their  reception,  and  all  are  arranged  according  to  their  relation  to 
heaven  or  the  world.  The  inferior  goods  take  up  their  residence  in 
those  lower  rooms  of  the  mind,  which  are  formed  by  information 
and  the  sciences :  the  superior  goods  enter  into  those  higher  capa- 
bilities, which  are  formed  by  affection  and  intellect.  The  regenerate 
man — he  with  whom  the  Lord  enters  into  conjunction — has  all  the 
tilings  of  intelligence  and  duty  arranged  in  his  mind  with  the  most 
distinctive  order.  The  things  of  science,  rationality,  pure  intellect, 
and  affection,  have  each  their  respective  mansions  in  the  human 
mind.  They  have  their  appropriate  rooms  in  the  ark.  It  is  in 
consequence  of  the  minds  of  the  regenerate  having  this  orderly 
arrangement,  that  the  Lord  said  of  them,  "Behold,  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  within  you,"  (Luke  xvii.  21,)  and  also  pronounced  that 


WINDOW  AND  DOOR  OF  THE  ARK.  275 

kingdom  to  be  a  house  with  many  mansions.  (John  xiv.  2.)  It  is 
easy  to  perceive,  that  the  regenerated  mind  is  as  a  house,  in  which 
the  Lord  dwelleth  with  its  possessor,  and  that  this  dwelling-place 
must  have  many  mansions,  each  of  which  is  intended  for  the  recep- 
tion of  some  of  the  distinctive  varieties  of  truth  and  goodness.  The 
Lord  also,  recognized  this  signification  of  rooms,  when  he  com- 
manded the  prophet  to  enter  into  his  chambers,  and  there  remain 
till  the  indignation  was  overpast :  (Isaiah  xxvi.  20  :)  and  likewise, 
where  he  directs,  that  when  we  pray,  that  we  should  enter  into  our 
closets :  (Matt.  vi.  6 :)  for  by  chambers  and  closets,  are  evidently 
meant,  inferior,  but  different,  apartments  of  the  mind,  in  which 
those  distinctive  duties  are  to  be  performed.  Seeing,  then,  what 
is  spiritually  meant  by  the  rooms  of  the  ark,  let  us  next  consider 
what  is  signified  by  the  window  above. 

By  this,  we  at  once  perceive,  is  denoted,  the  intellectual  princi- 
ple, which  acknowledges  the  Lord  to  be  the  source  of  light  The 
intellectual  principle  is  compared  to  a  window,  because  it  is  that 
by  which  the  light  of  truth  enters  in  to  illuminate  the  whole  mind, 
and  through  which  man,  as  it  were,  looks  out  to  view  religion  and 
contemplate  his  God :  and  in  the  instance  before  us,  it  is  said  to 
have  been  above,  plainly  to  express  the  idea  of  its  elevation 
towards  the  Lord,  who  is  the  "true  light  which  lighteth  every 
man  who  cometh  into  the  world."  (John  i.  9.)  Daniel  is  said  to 
have  prayed  to  the  Lord  with  his  windows  open,  (Dan.  vi.  10,)  to 
represent  the  expansion  of  the  intellectual  principle,  during  his 
solicitation  of  the  divine  graces.  So  likewise,  Jeremiah  speaks 
of  death  having  come  up  into  our  windows,  (Jer.  ix.  21,)  to  signify 
the  darkening  of  our  intellect,  through  the  approach  of  some  evil 
influence.  The  analogy  existing  between  the  window  in  the  ark 
above,  and  the  intellectual  principle  of  the  mind,  acknowledging 
the  Lord  as  the  source  of  aU  spiritual  light,  is  very  remarkable 
and  singularly  striking. 

But  there  was  also  to  be  a  door  in  the  side,  because  by  this  is 
denoted,  the  inlet  of  hearing,  by  which  faith  cometh.  Seeing  and 
hearing,  are  two  common  entrances  into  the  mind  ;  the  former  ad- 
mits ideas,  through  an  intellectual  perception,  the  latter  permits 
them  to  enter  by  means  of  external  teaching.  It  is  on  these 
grounds,  that  the  eye  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  window,  and  the 
ear  as  a  door.  Hearing  is  as  a  door  through  which  oral  instruction 
passes  into  the  mind,  and  from  mind  to  mind.  Every  one  is  aware, 
that  hearing  implies  the  entrance  of  something  into  the  memory, 


276  ANTEDILUVIAN  HISTORY. 

and  instruction  thence  j  likewise  to  receive  into  the  understand- 
ing, and  the  formation  of  belief  accordingly:  also,  to  receive  in 
obedience  and  to  do :  for  all  the  teachings  of  religion  have  relation 
to  the  duties  of  life.  The  reason  why  hearing  involves  these 
things,  is,  because  speech,  which  enters  into  the  mind  by  means 
of  hearing,  presents  itself  to  the  intellect,  and  there,  according  to 
the  efficacy  of  reason,  or  the  power  of  persuasion  from  some  other 
source,  it  is  retained,  believed,  and  obeyed.  Hence  it  is,  that  hear- 
ing, as  the  medium  through  which  instruction,  the  knowledges  of 
faith,  and  the  precepts  of  obedience,  enter  into  the  mind,  is  com- 
pared to  a  door.  So  that  hearing  is  as  a  door  in  the  side  of  the 
ark,  or  human  mind,  in  respect  to  the  window  that  is  above.  The 
window  that  is  above,  admits  of  illumination  from  the  Lord,  thus 
of  internal  instruction :  but  the  door  which  is  on  the  side,  is  the 
common  entrance  for  things  from  this  world,  thus  for  external  in- 
struction. These  two  inlets  of  knowledge,  one  from  above  and 
the  other  from  the  side,  are  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  the 
mental  ark,  —  that  condition  of  mind  in  which  we  are  to  be  pre- 
served in  good  and  saved  from  evil. 

But  it  was  further  directed,  that  this  ark  should  consist  of  lowest, 
second,  and  third  stories,  to  inform  us  that  there  are  three  different 
degrees  belonging  to  the  orderly  existence  of  a  regenerated  mind. 
Every  one's  experience  sufficiently  proves,  that  there  are  different 
degrees  in  the  mind ;  nor  can  it  require  any  very  interior  reflection 
to  discover,  that  they  must  consist  of  the  lower,  the  middle,  and 
higher.  This,  indeed,  as  a  general  truth,  is  perfectly  intelligible : 
and  a  little  consideration  will  show,  that  these  three  degrees  are 
the  natural,  the  spiritual,  and  the  celestial ;  and  also,  that  each  of 
them  has  its  own  continuous  elevation,  but  is  distinct  from  the 
others. 

For  instance,  when  man  is  first  born,  he  comes  merely  into  the 
natural  degree  of  his  mind,  and  this,  by  means  of  instruction  and 
the  sciences,  is  successively  developed  ^.nd  increased.  By  these 
means,  it  may  attain  to  a  considerable  elevation ;  still,  whatever 
may  be  its  height,  it  will  always  be  a  natural  degree,  or  the  lowest 
story  of  the  ark,  remaining  distinct  from  the  spiritual,  which  is 
immediately  above  it.  No  expansion  of  the  natural  degree  will 
ever  open  out  the  spiritual :  that  is  effected  by  another  process : 
hence  it  is,  that  we  sometimes  meet  with  persons  who  are  exceed- 
ingly well  informed  in  most  things  pertaining  to  the  world  and 
nature,  but  who,  nevertheless,  have  not  a  single  spiritual  idea 


THE  THREE  STORIES  OF  THE  ARK.  277 

opened  in  their  mind,  —  who  treat  the  existence  of  such  ideas  as 
the  chimera  of  enthusiasts,  and  who,  in  consequence,  think  nothing 
of  religion  or  its  teachings.  Hence,  we  see  that  the  natural  de- 
gree of  the  mind,  is  that  which  is  meant  by  the  lowest  story  of 
the  ark. 

The  middle  compartment  consists  of  the  spiritual  degree,  and 
this  is  begun  to  be  developed,  or  built  up,  as  man  begins  to  rev- 
erence the  truths  of  religion,  to  love  his  neighbor,  and  to  do  good 
to  society,  from  a  religious  principle  of  intelligence  and  use.  The 
love  of  our  neighbor  is  the  spiritual  principle  of  religion  ;  and  con- 
sequently, when  man  does  this,  the  spiritual  degree  of  his  mind  is 
unfolded  ;  and  this  may  go  on  increasing  in  its  elevation,  through 
the  accumulation  of  appropriate  knowledge  and  the  application  of 
it  to  use ;  still,  it  is  a  degree  which  must  always  be  distinct  from 
that  which  is  immediately  above,  and  thus,  it  is  the  second  story 
in  the  ark. 

The  third  story  is  the  celestial  degree,  in  which  resides  the  love 
of  God  above  all  things.  This  is  the  highest  degree  of  the  human 
mind,  wherein  the  highest  things  of  religion  take  up  their  abode, 
and  which,  in  itself,  is  nearest  heaven :  they  who  have  had  this 
degree  opened,  have  had  built  up  in  their  minds  the  third  story  of 
the  ark !  How  beautifully,  and,  at  the  same  time,  how  satisfac- 
torily, do  these  facts,  relating  to  the  structure  of  the  mind,  coincide 
with  the  description  of  the  ark !  When  thus  built  up,  it  becomes 
the  distinguished  means  for  safety  and  the  reception  of  blessings, 
which  are  the  obvious  *  purposes  for  which  it  was  commanded  to 
be  raised. 

Let  us  then,  in  the  next  place,  inquire  what  is  meant  by  entering 
into  it.  There  are  two  reasons,  both  of  which  have  respect  to  the 
necessary  qualification,  why  this  privilege  was  granted  to  Noah. 
First,  he  found  grace  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  ;  (Gen.  vi.  8 ;)  and, 
second,  the  Lord  saw  him  righteous  before  Him  in  that  generation. 
(Gen.  vii.  1.)  The  grace  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  him,  before 
the  building  of  the  ark,  because  it  denoted  the  remains  of  some 
truth,  by  which  it  was  to  be  accomplished :  but  the  righteousness 
is  ascribed  to  him,  after  the  work  was  completed,  because  that  ex- 
pressed a  state  of  good,  which  resulted  from  obedience  to  the  com- 
mand for  building  it :  "  Noah  did  according  to  all  that  the  Lord 
commanded  him."  (Gen.  vi.  22.)  These  are  additional  particulars, 
which  show  the  ark  to  have  been  significant  of  that  new  develop- 
ment of  mind,  which  was  necessary  for  the  appreciation  of  that 
24 


278  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

new  church,  or  covenant,  now  about  to  be  formed.  The  church  in 
after-times  has  not  unfrequently  been  called  the  ark  of  God.  The 
ark  of  the  covenant,  in  which  was  deposited  the  Law  delivered  to 
Moses,  was  carried  by  the  sons  of  Israel  in  their  travels  in  the 
wilderness,  and  it  operated  with  them  as  a  protection  from  danger 
and  a  source  of  blessing.  The  reason  was,  because  it  represented 
the  church.  It  shadowed  forth  what  ought  to  be  the  mind  of  the 
people  of  this  pasture,  and  what  would  be  its  results  when  prop- 
erly developed ;  namely,  that  it  ought  to  contain  the  commandments 
of  God,  because  it  is  these  which  preserve  from  evil  and  bless  with 
good,  whensoever  they  are  cherished  as  the  inner  principles  of 
religious  life  and  moral  guidance.  It  was,  also,  for  this  reason, 
that  John  says,  "  The  temple  of.  God  was  opened  in  heaven,  and 
there  was  seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of  his  testament ; "  (Rev.  xi. 
19 ;)  because,  by  the  temple  in  heaven,  is  meant,  the  universal 
worship  and  acknowledgment  of  the  Lord  which  prevails  in  that 
kingdom,  and  the  ark  in  the  temple,  plainly  denotes  that  state  of 
mind,  in  which  has  been  deposited  the  Divine  commandments,  and 
from  which  all  genuine  acknowledgment  and  worship  arise.  The 
human  mind  is  still  a  human  mind,  though  it  may  exist  in  heaven ! 
God's  regard  is  not  directed  to  a  senseless  ark  of  wood,  but  to 
those  living  mental  principles,  which  he  has  designed  for  the  re- 
ception of  his  precepts,  and  which  are  built  up  as  their  teachings 
are  loved  and  practised.  It  is  the  ark  thus  constituted,  of  which 
the  Lord  makes  use  to  save  mankind  from  the  influence  of  evil ; 
and  whiph,  when  so  built  up,  causes  the  builder  to  be  found  right- 
eous in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.* 

The  directions,  then,  which  were  given  to  Noah  and  his  house, 
for  going  into  the  ark,  are  to  be  understood  as  instructions  for  en- 
tering into  the  interior  things  of  the  church.  Men  are  said  to  enter 
into  that  which  they  understand  and  love :  and,  upon  the  same 
principle,  the  Lord,  who  knows  and  regards  the  good  of  the  human 
race,  is  said  to  enter  into  them,  and  abide  with  them.  (John  xv.  4.) 
"  Behold,"  said  he,  "  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock,  if  any  man 

*  Moses  is  described  to  have  been  placed  for  safety  in  an  ark  of  bul- 
rushes, Exod.  ii.  2,  because  he  represented  the  Divine  Law  in  its  origin, 
but  by  the  ark  of  bulrushes  in  which  he  was  preserved,  is  signified  that 
literal  form,  for  the  embodiment  of  the  Divine  Law,  which  is  respectively 
external  and  worldly,  and  which  a  low  and  degraded  condition  of  man- 
kind had  rendered  necessary  —  necessary  for  bringing  something  con- 
cerning it  down  to  man's  perverted  apprehension,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  protect  it  from  profanation. 


AFFECTIONS    COMPARED  TO    BEASTS.  279 

hear  my  voice  and  open  the  door,  T  will  come  in  to  him  and  sup 
with  him,  and  he  with  me."  (Rev.  iii.  20.)  If  men  love  what  is 
good  and  true,  they  enter  into  the  virtues  and  intelligences  which 
are  required,  and  this  will  preserve  them  from  dangers  and  promote 
their  welfare,  The  spiritual  and  intellectual  things,  which  con- 
stitute the  mind  of  the  church,  can  only  be  entered  into  from  a 
love  of  what  is  good  and  true.  Hence  Jesus  said  to  the  faithful 
servant,  "  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  (Matt.  xxv.  21.) 
Where,  by  entering,  is  plainly  meant  the  experience  of  delight 
from  a  principle  of  love.  The  Lord  said  unto  Noah,  "  Come  thou, 
and  all  thy  house  into  the  ark,"  when  he  had  "  seen  him  righteous 
before  Him.  in  that  generation."  That  was  the  qualification,  by 
which  those  people  were  enabled  to  comply  with  the  gracious  in- 
vitation, and  so,  to  be  protected  from  surrounding  peril.  When 
man  is  taught  what  are  the  interior  arrangements  of  an  orderly 
mind,  and,  by  things  intellectual,  is  convinced  of  its  truth,  he  may 
be  said  to  have  built  the  ark :  but  he  can  enter  into  it  only  from  an 
activity  of  love  ;  that  is  the  principle  by  which  he  is  seen  to  be 
righteous  before  the  Lord,  and  he  is  then  invited  to  enter,  because 
he  is  inclined  to  do  so,  and  can  be  saved  thereby. 

But  it  was  not  only  Noah  and  his  house  who  were  to  enter  into 
the  ark;  he  was  told  to  take  with  him  "every  clean  beast  by 
sevens,  the  male  and  his  female  ;  and  of  beasts  that  were  not  clean, 
by  two,  the  male  and  his  female.  Of  fowls  also,  of  the  air,  by 
sevens,  the  male  and  his  female  ;  to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth."    (Gen.  vii.  2,  3.)    What  can  be  the  meaning  of  this  ? 

It  is  an  observation  of  the  ancients,  that  man  is  a  microcosm,  or 
little  world  ;  by  which  was  meant,  that  all  things  in  the  world  of 
nature,  have  a  sort  of  antitype  in  the  world  of  mind :  mind  being 
the  specific  inheritance  of  man.  On  this  ground,  beasts,  among 
the  ancients,  Avere  named,  to  signify  certain  living  affections  in 
man ;  the  clean  beasts  the  good  affections,  and  unclean  beasts  the 
evil  affections  pertaining  to  his  nature.  The  reason  why  man's 
aflfections  are  so  signified,  is,  because,  in  his  fallen  condition,  he 
has  had  induced  upon  his  senses,  appetites,  and  feelings,  sensa- 
tions similar  to  those  which  are  common  to  the  beasts.  The  only 
ground  or  cause  of  his  excellence  or  superiority  is,  his  interior  life, 
which  the  beasts  have  not,  nor  are  they  capable  of  having  it. 
This  interior  life  is  man's  spiritual  nature,  and  God's  special  gift 
to  him.  It  is  maintained  by  means  of  the  knowledges  of  truth 
and  the  love  of  goodness,  communicated  to  hun  from  the  Lord. 


280  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

There  is  a  living  and  an  enduring  principle  in  all  the  virtues 
which  he  communicates  to  forms  created  for  their  reception.  All 
truth  and  goodness  are  His,  and  He  is  in  them ;  and  man,  their 
created  recipient,  derives  his  immortality  therefrom.  It  is  the  life 
inherent  in  truth,  which  influences  his  understanding,  and  the  life 
inherent  in  goodness  which  influences  his  will ;  these  distinguish 
him  from  the  brute,  and  without  which  he  would,  in  no  respect, 
be  man. 

It  was  because  the  ancients  knew,  and  when  they  were  in  hu- 
mility acknowledged,  that  they  had,  by  the  fall,  partaken  of  a  low 
and  bestial  nature,  that  they  compared  their  affections  to  beasts, 
and  their  thoughts  to  fowls ;  distinguishing  the  good  from  the  evil. 
The  good  affections  they  compared  to  lambs,  sheep,  goats,  and 
oxen,  because  they  were  harmless  and  gentle ;  and  also,  because 
of  their  usefulness  in  respect  to  human  convenience  and  life: 
whereas,  the  evil  affections  were  compared  to  unclean  beasts,  such 
as  foxes,  wolves,  and  serpents.  This,  also,  is  the  reason  why  the 
Lord  afterwards  spoke  of  the  members  of  his  church  as  sheep  and 
lambs,  as  in  the  case  where  he  directed  Peter  to  feed  his  lambs 
and  sheep  ;  and  also,  why  he  spoke  of  the  wicked  as  wolves,  foxes, 
serpents,  and  a  generation  of  vipers,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Phari- 
sees and  Herod. 

Again,  under  the  representative  economy,  clean  beasts,  without 
spot  or  blemish,  were  directed  to  be  offered  in  sacrificial  worship, 
because  they  were  designed  to  represent  the  pure  affections,  by 
and  with  which  the  Lord  can  alone  be  worshiped.  Unclean  beasts 
were  most  scrupulously  excluded,  because  the  Lord  cannot  be 
worshiped  acceptably  from  the  impure  affections  which  they  sig- 
nify. Fowls,  also,  such  as  doves  and  pigeons,  w.ere  portions  of 
the  sacrificial  ritual,  because  they  represented  true  ideas  pertain- 
ing to  the  thought :  and  this  ceremonious  worship  was  performed 
by  means  of  beasts  and  birds,  to  represent,  that  the  true  worship 
.  of  the  Lord  is  offered  up  by  means  of  pure  affections  of  love,  and 
correct  ideas  of  thought.  The  two  faculties  of  man,  and  the  in- 
ternal things  belonging  to  them,  when  in  a  state  of  order,  are  to 
be  brought  into  activity,  in  the  performance  of  this  high  and  im- 
portant duty. 

Much  perplexity  has  been  experienced,  at  the  mention  of  clean 
and  unclean  beasts,  before  the  institution  of  the  Levitical  law,  by 
which  that  distinction  is  declared  ;  and  to  account  for  this  circum- 
stance, it  has  been  supposed,  that  Moses  spoke  proleptically,  and 


man's  state  on  entering  the  church.         281 

with  reference  to  those  animals  which  the  Jews  so  denominated  at 
the  time  of  his  writing.  But  this  is  not  the  correct  reason.  Al- 
though the  law  announces  the  distinctions,  the  principles  on  which 
they  were  founded,  are  those  different  classes  of  affections  and 
thoughts,  which  a  more  ancient  and  better  informed  people  than 
the  Jews,  knew  to  have  their  representations  in  different  classes 
of  animated  nature  ;  and  consequently,  they  spoke  of  them  as  such. 
This  is  the  ground  of  those  distinctions  being  mentioned  in  the 
case  before  us,  and  those  of  the  Levitical  law  arose  therefrom. 
Under  this  view,  the  whole  perplexity  disappears :  and  the  facts 
are  highly  suggestive.  They  show,  that  the  beasts  and  fowl, 
which  Noah  was  directed  to  take  with  him  into  the  ark,  are  men- 
tioned, merely  to  represent  that  great  variety  of  affection  and 
thought,  which  distinguished  the  people  who  were  entering  into 
the  church,  now  in  the  process  of  being  established. 

Man,  on  entering  into  the  church,  necessarily  took  with  him  all 
his  affections,  both  good  and  bad :  the  good  affections  were  the 
clean  beasts  ;  and  these  were  to  be  taken  in  by  sevens,  to  denote, 
that  there  is  a  holiness  about  all  good,  of  which  that  number  is 
significant.  (For  illustration,  see  pp.  62,  63.)  The  fowls,  also, 
were  to  be  taken  in  by  sevens,  to  denote  the  sanctity  which  per- 
tains to  the  knowledges  of  truth,  of  which  the  fowls  were  the 
types.  The  unclean  beasts  represented  the  impure  affections, 
which  had  fixed  themselves  on  man ;  and  these  were  to  be  taken 
in  by  twos  or  pairs,*  to  indicate  the  profane  conjunction  which 
they  had  formed  with  his  nature.  The  number  two,  denotes  con- 
junction :  in  the  case  of  what  is  clean,  the  conjunction  of  what  is 
true  and  good ;  but  in  the  case  of  what  is  not  clean,  as  in  the 

*  At  verses  19  and  20  of  the  preceding  chapter,  Noah  was  directed  to 
take  into  the  ark,  "  two  of  every  sort,  — of  fowls  after  their  kind,  and  of 
cattle  after  their  kind,  and  of  every  creeping  thing ; "  nothing  is  said 
about  taking  any  in  by  sevens  ;  nor  is  there  any  distinction  made  between 
the  clean  and  unclean  :  this  appears  like  a  discrepancy,  but  it  is  not  so  : 
the  reason  for  the  different  statements,  is  the  different  aspects  of  the 
general  subject  treated  of  in  each  case.  The  statements  at  chap.  vi.  ver. 
19,  20,  are  made  in  connection  with  the  directions  for  building  the  ark, 
and  thus  refer  to  things  intellectual,  and  the  regeneration  of  all  the 
things  of  faith  by  means  of  all  the  goods  of  charity,  and  so  by  pairs.  But 
the  invitation  for  entering  into  the  ark  after  it  was  built,  refers  to  the 
things  of  the  will,  for  the  reasons  stated  above.  Hence,  also,  it  is,  that 
in  chap,  vi.,  from  the  9th  verse  to  the  end,  the  Supreme  Being  is  not 
called  Jehovah,  but  God ;  but  in  chap.  vii.  He  is  spoken  of  as  Jehovah. 
Notice  is  taken  of  a  similar  circumstance,  at  page  64. 
24* 


282  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

instance  before  us,  the  conjunction  of  what  is  false  and  evil. 
Hence,  by  the  unclean  beasts,  or  man's  evil  affections,  are  not  to 
be  understood  that  they  were  so  few,  in  comparison  with  the  clean 
beasts,  or  good  affections,  as  to  be  only  in  the  proportion  of  two  to 
seven ;  for  the  evils  in  man  are  more  numerous  than  his  goods. 
But  seven  are  predicated  of  what  is  clean,  to  indicate  the  sanctity 
of  all  that  is  good  ;  and  two  are  predicated  of  what  is  unclean,  to 
express,  in  this  case,  the  profane  conjunction  which  exists  between 
what  is  false  and  evil. 

Two  signifies  conjunction,  because  all  things  in  creation  have 
reference  to  the  two  principles  of  goodness  and  truth ;  to  good,  as 
to  what  is  agent  and  influent,  and  to  truth,  as  to  what  is  patient 
and  recipient.  From  this  ground,  there  is  somewhat  resembling  a 
marriage  in  all  things  of  the  three  kingdoms  of  nature,  and,  in- 
deed, without  it,  nothing  at  all  could  exist :  for  in  order  that  any 
thing  may  exist  in  nature,  there  must  be  heat  and  light,  and  these 
two  must  act  in  unity,  if  any  thing  is  produced ;  and  if  they  do 
not  act  in  unity,  as  is,  in  some  measure,  the  case  in  winter,  nothing 
is  effected.  This,  also,  is  the  case  spiritually  with  man.  There 
are  two  faculties  appertaining  to  him,  namely,  the  will  and  under- 
standing ;  the  will  is  formed  to  receive  the  good  of  love,  which 
corresponds  to  heat,  and  the  understanding  to  receive  the  truths 
of  faith,  which  correspond  to  light ;  and  unless  the  good  of  love, 
and  the  truth  of  faith  make  one  in  man,  nothing  is  produced ;  for 
the  good  of  love,  without  the  truth  of  faith,  does  not  determine,  or 
qualify  any  thing,  and  the  truth  of  faith,  without  the  good  of  love, 
does  not  effect  any  thing ;  wherefore,  to  the  intent  that  there  may 
be  in  man  a  heavenly  marriage,  those  two  principles  must  make 
one  with  him,  and  become  conjoined.  (Arcana  Coelestia,  n.  5194.) 
It  is  hence,  then,  that  two  signifies  conjunction :  in  the  case  before 
us,  the  conjunction  of  what  is  evil  and  false,  because  these  are 
represented  by  the  unclean  beasts. 

It  is  farther  said  of  each  class,  that  they  were  to  be  taken  in, 
"  male  and  his  female,"  to  denote,  that  all  things  of  thought  were 
united  to  some  affection.  Indeed,  no  thought  can  exist  in  the 
understanding,  which  is  not,  at  the  same  time,  conjoined,  as  in  a 
kind  of  marriage,  with  some  affection  in  the  will :  and  male  and 
female  are  mentioned  to  represent  this  marriage,  —  the  male  refer- 
ring more  to  the  things  of  intellect  and  understanding,  the  female, 
more  to  the  things  of  affection  and  the  will.  So  that  the  very 
minutifE  of  the  narrative,  are  found  to  disclose  remarkable  particu- 


A  PARALLEL.  283 

lars  concerning  the  metaphysical  constitution  of  mankind.  The 
Word  of  God  is  the  only  book  on  true  metaphysics.  It  was  writ- 
ten by  God's  direction ;  He  knoweth  what  is  in  man,  and  it  is  a 
revelation  to  him  of  all  the  characteristics  of  his  mental  condition. 
For  man  to  know  himself,  he  must  study  the  Word  of  God. 

Beasts,  the  clean  and  unclean,  with  fowls,  were  to  be  taken  into 
the  ark,  because  the  man  of  the  church  was  then,  as  he  now  is,  of 
a  mixed  character,  as  to  his  intellect  and  will.  He  has  affection 
for  goodness,  and  thoughts  towards  truth ;  he  has  propensities  to 
evil,  and  inclinations  to  falsehood ;  (God  has  mercifully  provided 
for  the  former  by  the  preservation  of  remains  :)  and  these  are  the 
clean  and  unclean  beasts  and  fowls.  By  Noah  taking  them  with 
him  into  the  ark,  was  represented,  man  entering  into  the  church 
with  these  opposite  characteristics  in  his  nature:  and  the  rea- 
son assigned  for  so  doing,  was,  "to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the 
earth ; "  that  is,  to  perpetuate  truth  in  the  world.  The  seed  is  the 
truth  of  the  church,  of  which  the  Lord  is  the  sower.  Some  of 
this  seed  remained  with  Noah,  for  hence  it  was,  that  he  found 
grace  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  All  the  rest  of  the  posterity  of 
Adam  had  destroyed  this  seed  in  themselves,  and  were,  in  conse- 
quence, about  to  perish :  the  seed  of  truth  is  kept  alive  by  use  in 
goodness.  Truth  lives  when  it  is  employed  in  promoting  the  works 
of  virtue. 

It  may  appear,  from  the  circumstance  of  taking  in  the  unclean 
beasts  by  pairs,  as  if  the  Lord  arranged  for  the  perpetuation  of 
what  is  evil  and  false,  as  well  as  what  is  good  and  true  ;  still,  every 
one  must  see,  that  this  was  not  intended,  because  it  is  contrary  to 
His  nature  and  His  providence.  It  was  only  seed  that  was  to  be 
kept  alive,  and  this  is  predicated  of  truth  as  the  vessel  for  the 
reception  of  good.  It  is  no  part  of  God's  designs  to  perpetuate 
man's  disorders  ;  but  they  being  inrooted  in  his  nature,  he  is  in- 
vited by  the  Lord  to  enter  with  them  into  the  ark,  that  there  they 
may  be  weakened  and  moderated  by  holy  influences,  and  so  be 
prevented  from  manifesting  themselves,  or  becoming  hurtful  to 
society. 

The  circumstance  of  the  diversified  beasts  and  fowls,  which 
Noah  took  with  him  into  the  ark,  denoting  the  various  aflTections 
and  thoughts  which  men  take  with  them  on  entering  into  the  church 
of  God,  is  not  without  a  parallel,  in  predictions  which  are  delivered 
concerning  the  Christian  church.  It  is  written,  that  "  The  wolf 
shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the 


284  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

kid ;  and  the  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together ;  and 
a  little  child  shall  lead  them :  and  the  cow  and  tlie  bear  shall  feed ; 
their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  together ;  and  the  lion  shall  eat 
straw  like  an  ox.  And  the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of 
the  asp^  and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cockatrice 
den.  They  shall  not  hurt  or  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain." 
(Isa.  xi.  6,  9.)  This  is  universally  allowed  to  be  a  representation 
of  the  peaceable  character,  which,  at  some  period,  is  to  distinguish 
the  true  church.  That  church  is  called  the  Lord's  "Holy  Moun- 
tain ; "  therein  are  to  be  assembled  the  wolf  and  the  lamb,  the 
leopard  and  the  kid,  the  calf  and  the  lion,  the  fatling  and  the  child, 
the  cow  and  the  bear,  the  asp  and  the  cockatrice.  Thus,  the  clean 
and  the  unclean  beasts  are  to  be  assembled  in  the  holy  mountain, 
and  dwell  together  in  peace.  There  is,  then,  an  obvious  parallel- 
ism between  the  clean  and  unclean  beasts  to  b6  gathered  on  the 
holy  mountain,  and  those  which  were  collected  in  the  saving  ark  r 
but,  as  the  prediction  of  the  prophet  is  not  intended  to  express  a 
physical  occurrence,  so,  neitlier,  is  the  narrative  of  Mose&.  They 
both  refer  to  spiritual  and  intellectual  phenomena,  which  take  place 
with  man  during  the  process  of  his  regeneration  ;  though  this  de- 
scription, in  one  case,  is  written  in  the  shape  of  a  figurative  history, 
yet,  in  the  other,  it  is  put  forth  in  the  form  of  a  symbolical  pre- 
diction. The  clean  beasts  and  fowlsL^enter  into  the  church,  to  have 
their  condition  preserv^ed  and  elevated ;  the  unclean  are  permitted 
to  enter,  in  order  that  they  may  be  restrained,  and  have  their  fe- 
rocity extracted,  which  purposes  are  accomplished  by  those  salutary 
influences  which  the  Lord  supplies  through  the  instrumentality  of 
His  Word. 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

THE  DELUGE,  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  ALL  FLESH  BUT  THOSE  WHO 
ENTERED  INTO  THE  ARK. 

"The  idea  of  a  universal  deluge,  Mosaic  or  historical,  is  not  sustainable. 
Such  is  the  opinion  of  most  of  the  geologists  on  the  continent.  The 
proofs  of  its  absurdity  are  so  evident,  that,  for  a  long  time,  the  Luther- 
an clergy  have  given  it  up.  At  length,  the  English  clergy,  the  most 
tenacious  of  all,  have  surrendered  their  arms.  They  have  at  last  ac- 
knowledged, by  the  organ  of  Mr.  Sedgwick,  and  Mr.  Conybear,  that  if 
there  have  been  deluges,  they  have  not  been  general ;  and  that  the  Mo- 
saic deluge,  if  it  ever  took  place  as  it  is  related,  could  in  no  case  pro- 
duce the  ancient  alluvions,  or  the  pretended  deluvium."  —  A.  Bone, 
Mem.  Geol.  v.  i.  p  149.    Paris,  1832. 

Wf.  now  ei'^r  upon  tli5  consideration  of  one  of  the  most  re- 


CHARACTER  OP  THE  NARRATIVE.         VS^' 

markable  events  mentioned  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  A  belief  in 
the  literal  sense  of  the  Mosaic  history  of  the  Deluge,  has  so  long, 
and  so  extensively  prevailed,  that,  to  question  its  accuracy,  may 
produce  some  anxiety  and  alarm.  This,  however,  must  be  done, 
in  order  to  arrive  at  a  correct  view  of  the  subject ;  and  the  theo- 
logical prejudices  thereon,  formed  by  a  misinterpretation  of  the 
narrative,  must  give  way  to  the  trutlis,  established  by  sober  crit- 
icism, and  the  discoveries  of  science.  The  evidences  favorable  to 
this  conclusion,  are  so  strong,  that  Dr,  Pye  Smith  candidly  says, 
"  We  must  admit  the  probability,  that  we  have  not  rightly  inter- 
preted those  portions  of  the  Scriptures."  (Geol.  and  Scriptures,  p. 
^5.  Sec.  ed.)  Other  writers  of  ecclesiastical  distinction  and 
scientific  celebrity,  have  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion.  (Pro- 
fessors Baden  Powell,  and  Adam  Sedgwick.)  The  question  does 
not  afi'ect  the  authenticity  or  the  divinity  of  the  narrative,  it  is  one 
of  interpretation  only.  The  ancient  notions  upon  the  subject  are 
thoroughly  disturbed,  —  and  disturbed  by  testimonies  of  so  irresis- 
tible a  nature,  as  to  compel  its  relinquishment,  by  all  who  have  the 
courage  to  open  their  eyes  to  evidence,  and  thence  to  think.  It 
may  be  useful  to  advert  to  a  few  of  the  cu-cumstances  which  have 
conduced  to  this  result 

What  the  populace,  from  the  teachings  they  have  received,  re- 
gard as  the  orthodox  beliefs  is,  that  the  flood  was  an  overflow  of 
water,  by  which  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  was  submerged ; 
and  produced  by  a  breaking  up  of  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep, 
and  forty  days  of  incessant  rain.*  The  evidences  on  which  these 
views  rest,  are  supposed  to  be  furnished  by  the  letter  of  the  narra- 
tive ;  and,  that  the  fact  itself  is  corroborated  by  very  numerous 
traditions,  and  also  substantiated  by  geological  phenomena. 

The  facts  presented  in  the  Mosaic  narrative,  are  these.  The 
Lord  said,  "I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth  forty  days  and 
forty  nights.  The  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up, 
and  the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened.  And  the  rain  was  upon 
the  earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights.  And  the  waters  prevailed 
exceedingly  upon  the  earth  ;  and  all  the  high  hills  that  were  under 
the  whole  heaven,  were  covered  fifteen  cubits."  {Gen.  viL  4,  11, 
12,  19,  20.)  It  is  plain,  from  these  statements,  whatever  may  be 
the  sense  attached  to  the  deluge,  that  an  idea  of  some  universal 

*  This  view  is  set  forth  and  defended,  in  some  instances  very  absurdly, 
in  "  An  Inquiry  into  the  truth  and  certainty  of  the  Mosaic  Deluge." 
J5y  Patrick  Cockbum,  M.A.,  Vicar  of  Long  Horsley,  in  Northumberland. 


28ff  ANTEDILUTIAN    HISTOKr. 

destruction,  in  reference  to  man,  is  intended  to  be  expressed :  bat 
whether  it  was  produced  by  an  overflow  of  water,  is  another  ques- 
tion. It  is  true,  that  the  narrative  so  represents  it ;  yet  it  is  equally 
true,  that  the  Scriptures  frequently  employ  the  terms,  water  and 
floods,  in  a  purely  figurative  sense,  and  this,  we  think,  ]&  the  way 
in  which  they  are  n«ed  in  the  instance  before  us.  All  who  have 
examined  the  subject,  in  a  literal  sense  merely,  have  been  com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  the  great  difficulties  by  which  it  is  beset, 
and  to  relinquish  many  notions  which  were  formerly  attached  to  it. 
It  has  not  been  unusual  to  regard  the  catastrophe  as  having  been  a. 
tumultuous  movement  of  the  agitated  waves,  sweeping  along  the 
valleys,  with  destructive  violence,*  and  majestically  rising  up  the 
mountain  sides,  with  furious  uproar,  to  overwhelm  the  wretched 
beings,  who  might  have  fled  for  safety  to  their  summits.  But  it 
must  be  plain  to  all,  who  will  calmly  examine  the  narrative,  that 
these  are  exaggerations  of  the  imagination,  having  no  foundation 
in  the  description  itself.  It  does  not  represent  the  circumstance, 
either  at  its  commencement  or  termmation,  to  have  been  of  so  dis- 
rupting and  earth-disturbing  a  character  as  was  once  vulgarly  sup- 
posed.f  The  rise  and  subsidence  are  spoken  of,  as  liaving  been 
gradual  and  quiet ;  so  much  so,  that  the  vegetation  at  the  earth's- 
surface,  in  some  districts,  Avas  not  destroyed  by  it ;  at  least,  an 
olive  leaf  is  described  to  have  been  plucked  off,  after  the  tree  had 
been  submerged  in  exceedingly  deep  waters,  for  nearly  three  hun- 
dred days !  The  ark  experienced  no  storm,  sustained  no  injury, 
but  rode  with  gentleness  upon  the  waters.  These  circumstances 
seem  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  appeal  to  geological  phenomena, 
in  proof  of  the  deluge.  For  why  refer  to  a  science  which  proves 
such  extraordinary  convulsions  to  have  taken  place  with  the  earth's 
crust,  when  tlie  clear  inference,  from  tlie  Mosaic  narrative  is,  that 
the  earth's  surface  was  very  little  disturbed  ?  Those  who  appeal 
to  geology  to  prove  the  deluge,  concede  these  facts :  they  even 
suppose,  what  they  understand  to  be  the  geography  of  tlie  ante- 
diluvian world,  to  have  been  so  little  disarranged  by  the  flood,  that 
it  is  admissive  of  identification  in  our  own  day.  They  even  tliink, 
that  some  of  the  rivers  of  Eden,  may  still  be  pointed  out.     (See 

*  Dr.  Buckland  sets  forth  this  view  in  his  Reliquiaj  Diluvianae,  though 
he  has  candidly  abandoned  it  in  a  note  in  his  Bridgewater  Treatise. 

t  See  Rev.  Dr.  Fleming,  on  the  Geological  Deluge.  Edin.  Phil.  Jouxn. 
Vol.  xiv.  p.  205 ;  and  also  a  paper  in  the  Quarterly  Review^  Oct.  1827>.  No, 
bxii.  n  481. 


VIEWS    OF   THE   DELUGE   IN    A    TRANSITION    STATE.     '287 

page  90,  note.)  While  such  a  view  can  require  no  aid  for  its  sup- 
port, from  geological  science,  it  need  not  fear  any  difficulties  aris- 
ing from  its  discoveries.  It  may  be  said  to  be  unique,  but  it  is 
hardly  satisfactory. 

But  the  prosecution  of  geological  studies,  has  shown,  with  the 
utmost  clearness,  that  what  was  once  understood  to  have  been 
•diluvial  action,  is  not  the  result  of  one  universal  or  simultaneous 
submergence  of  the  earth,  but  the  consequences  of  many  distinct 
local  watery  forces  ;  and  produced,  not  by  a  gradual  inundation  of 
only  three  hundred  and  sixty  days'  duration,  but  by  the  continued 
action  of  aqueous  forces  for  periods  of  incalculable  extent.  More- 
<over,  a  recent  overflow  of  water,  simultaneously  covering  the  earth, 
and  rising  above  the  summits  of  the  highest  mountains,  must  have 
left  peculiar  evidences  of  such  circumstances  ;  such,  however,  are 
not  to  be  found,  but  instead  thereof,  there  are  positive  facts  stand- 
ing out  against  it. 

Of  course,  efforts  have  not  been  wanting  to  make  the  discov- 
eries of  science  square  with  the  pre-conceived  notions  of  the 
narrative  ;  but  then,  those  notions  have  themselves  given  way  I 
they  have  acquired  an  elasticity,-  in  which  their  original  character 
has  entirely  disappeared.  There  is  no  uniform  opinion  upon  the 
•subject  now  extant.  The  populace,  indeed,  retain  the  notion  con- 
cerning it,  which  has  been  taught  them  in  preceding  ages :  but  the 
learned  are  not  yet  sufficiently  agreed  upon  any  new  explanation, 
to  enter  upon  the  work  of  undeceiving  them.  The  whole  matter 
is  now  in  a  transition  state :  and  we  have  no  doubt,  that  a  time 
will  come,  when  the  narrative  will  no  longer  be  considered  as  the 
literal  history  of  natural  phenomena,  but  a  figurative  description 
of  the  mental  condition  of  mankind,  and  God's  merciful  interpo- 
sition to  preserve  the  human  race  from  perishing  by  a  wicked 
influence.  This,  we  conceive  to  be  the  only  view,  in  which  the 
history  can  be  presented  in  a  rational  and  satisfactory  light.  If  it 
was  not  written  to  describe  an  event  in  outward  nature,  we  need 
not  be  surprised  at  its  want  of  agreement  with  the  discoveries 
and  demands  of  science. 

Although  the  rising  and  falling  of  the  waters,  seem  to  have 
been  too  tranquil,  to  allow  geological  phenomena  to  be  referred  to 
their  action,  still  it  may  be  asked,  whether  the  breaking  up  of  the 
fountains  of  the  great  deep,  may  not  have  occasioned  those  irregu- 
larities and  divergencies  of  the  strata  from  that  horizontal  position 
which  they  must  have  originally  possessed,  and  which  are  no^jv 


288  ANTEDILirriAN   HISTOKY. 

observable  ?  Before  such  a  question  can  be  properly  replied  to,  it 
will  be  requisite  to  define,  what  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep 
are.  It  has  been  conjectured,  that  tlie  antediluvian  world  con- 
tained, within  its  centre,  immense  reservoirs  of  water ;  and  the 
surrcMinding-  strata  having-  been  made  to  give  way,  sunk  into  it, 
and  so  occasioned  its  elevation :  and  this,  it  has  been  supposed, 
was  the  breaking  up  of  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep,  and  the 
occasion  of  those  irregularities  of  strata  observable.  But  it  is  an 
hypothesis  without  sufficient  data:  it  is  not  recognized  by  the 
scientific  inquirer,  nor  does  it  agree  with  the  facts  which  geology 
discloses.  It  is  one  of  those  ingenious  conceptioi^  of  the  earlier 
cosmogonists,  which  has  been  abandoned,  as  impossible,  by  all 
who  are  in  possession  of  later  and  riper  information. 

Still,  the  inquiry.  Whence  the  water  was  to  be  obtained,  by 
which  all  the  high  hills  were  to  be  covered  fifteen  cubits  ?  natu- 
rally suggests  itself.^  And  here  other  difficulties  arise  ;  for  when 
we  know  that  it  would  require  for  the  supply,  an  ainomit  equal  to 
five  miles  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  sea,  —  that  it  would 
increase  the  equatorial  diameter  of  the  earth  eleven  or  twelve 
miles,  —  that  the  earth's  gravity  would  be  increased,  and  the 
causes  of  its  previous  precession  and  nutation  disarranged,  —  and 
that  these  circumstances  must  needs  have  propagated  their  effects 
throughout  the  whole  solar  system  ;  —  we  say,  when  these  astound- 
ing facts  are  known  to  be  the  consequences  of  water  having  cov- 
ered all  the  high  hills  of  the  earth  fifteen  cubits,  the  theological 
view  popularly  received,  must  needs  give  way  to  some  more  rea- 
sonable and  modified  interpretation  of  the  narrative. 

The  most  plausible  geological  facts,  on  which  the  evidences  of 
the  deluge  have  most  recently  been  thought  to  rest,  are  those 
which  are  presented  in  what  has  been  generally  included  in  the 
common  name,  diluvium.  This  is  considered  to  describe  superficial 
accumulation :  such  as  sand,  soil,  gravel,  and  those  loose  aggrega- 
tions of  larger  stones  and  blocks,  which  are  to  be  found  throughout 
the  whole  surface  of  the  earth.     But  the  examination  of  their  con- 

*  Isaac  Vossius,  on  this  subject  observes,  "that  the  waters  of  the 
whole  globe  would  not  suffice  to  overflow  the  earth  to  such  a  height  as  is 
mentioned,  although  all  the  seas  were  drained ;  more  waters  must  either 
have  been  created  for  that  purpose,  or  we  must  say  with  some,  that  that 
vast  quantity  of  water  fell  down  from  some  other  of  the  celestial  orbs, 
and  that  the  deluge  ended,  returned  back  to  their  former  place.  But 
these  are  only  pious  fooleries.  God  works  no  miracles  in  vain." —  Trea- 
tise of  the  True  Af/e  of  the  World. 


THE    DILUVIUM.  289 

tents,  and  an  inquiry  into  the  direction  of  the  currents  by  which 
those  fragments  must  have  been  driven,  and  afterwards  deposited 
in  their  present  situations,  have  proved,  most  conclusively,  to  all 
competent  judges  of  the  subject,  that  they  were  the  results  of 
different  diluvial  actions,  that  they  must  have  taken  place  in  differ- 
ent ages,  and  that  all  of  them  are  of  local  extent,  though  the 
locality  of  some  may  have  been  very  large.  Instances  are  known 
in  which  one  stratum  crosses  another  and  overlies  it  From  these 
circumstances,  scientific  men  —  men  influenced  by  piety,  and  a 
belief  in  revelation  —  have  concluded,  that  these  phenomena  could 
not  have  been  produced  by  such  an  event  as  the  terms  of  the 
Noetic  deluge  seem  to  require.* 

Another  class  of  evidences,  leading  to  the  same  result,  is  fur- 
nished by  volcanoes.  In  the  south  and  towards  the  centre  of 
France,  there  are  several  hundred  conical  hills,  having  the  forms 
of  modern  volcanoes,  with  craters,  more  or  less  perfect,  on  many 
of  their  summits.  None  of  these  have  been  in  action  within  the 
period  of  history  or  tradition.  Some  have  had  channels  cut  in 
them  by  ancient  rivers,  through  masses  of  solid  lava,  a  hundred 
feet  in  thickness  ;  and  these  channels  have  since  been  choked  up 
by  streams  of  lava.f  The  time  required  for  the  production  of  these 
phenomena  is  incalculable:  still  it  is  evident,  that  they  cannot 
have  transpired  since  the  period  which  chronology  assigns  to  the 
Noetic  deluge :  and  the  circumstance  of  there  being  present,  on 
the  sides  of  these  volcanoes,  loose  scoriae,  pumice,  and  cinders, 
proves  that  they  have  not  been  submerged,  and  consequently,  that 
they  were  not  inundated  by  "  Noah's  flood."  | 

*  '*  That  a  transient  deluge,  like  that  described  in  the  Scriptures,  could 
have  produced,  and  brought  into  its  present  situation,  all  the  diluvium 
which  is  now  spread  over  this  continent  (America)  will  not  (it  seems  to 
me)  be  admitted  for  a  moment  by  any  impartial  observer."  —  Prof. 
Hitchcock's  Geology  of  Massachusetts,  p.  148, 

t  Lyell's  Elements  of  Geology.  Sec.  Ed.  Vol.  1,  p.  11 ;  Vol.  2,  p.  190. 
See  also  His  Principles  of  Geology.  Sir  H.  de  la  Beche's  Geological 
Manual  may  also  be  consulted.     3d  Ed.  p.  172. 

+  "  When  did  these  fires  burn  ?  "When  took  place  this  amazing  com- 
bination of  volcanic  eruptions  and  their  terrible  accompaniments  ?  How 
long  ago  was  the  last  of  them  ?  And  by  what  intervals  of  time  could  we 
ascend,  from  that  last  to  the  earlier  eruption ;  and  to  the  earliest  of  the 
astounding  number  ?  —  These  questions  cannot  be  answered  by  any  as- 
signing of  our  measures  of  time ;  years  and  centuries.  Such  analogies 
as  may  be  inferred  by  comparative  examination  of  the  condition  of  Etna, 
Vesuvius,  and  other  active  volcanoes,  carry  us  to  the  contemplation  of  a 

35 


290  ANTEDILtrVlAN   HISTOHY. 

The  idea  of  its  univergality,  has  been  relinquished  by  many 
iistinguished  Biblical  scholars.  Among  others  may  be  named 
Bishop  Stillingfleet,  the  learned  Vossius,  and  Matthew  Poole  ;  the 
former  observes,  "I  cannot  see  any  nrgent  necessity  from  the 
Scriptures,  to  assert  that  the  flood  did  spread  itself  over  all  the 
^rface  of  the  earth : "  (Origines  Sacrse,  Book  III.  chap.  iv. :)  and 
the  latter  observes,  "  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  entire  globe 
of  earth  was  covered  with  water.'^  (Synopsis,  Gen.  vii.  19.)  Ro- 
senranller  has  given  a  summary  of  the  arguments,  which  modern 
critics  have  advanced  to  prove  that  the  deluge  was  not  universal.* 
And  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  one  of  the  most  recent  and  accomplished 
writers  on  this  subject,  contends,  that  the  expressions,  which 
have  been  so  interpreted,  are  mere  orientalisms,  and  that  they 
mean  no  more  than  a  large  extent.  He  thinks  it  was  only  suffi- 
ciently great  to  overwhelm  the  whole  of  the  human  race,  that 
being  the  principal  object  of  it,  and  whom,  he  considers,  at 
the  time  of  its  occurrence,  not  to  have  emigrated  beyond  a 
comparatively  small  district  in  the  east;  and  he  finally  fixes 
the  scene  of  the  inundation  described  by  Moses,  in  and  about 
that  portion  of  Western  Asia,  where  there  is  a  large  district, 
now  considerably  depressed  below  the  level  of  the  sea.f  That 
there  might  have  been  a  local  deluge  in  tiie  district  named,  as 
doubtless  there  has  been  in  many  other  portions  of  the  east, 
need  not  be  questioned.  But  was  it  the  Noetic  flood  ?  There  is 
not  sufficient  evidence  to  affirm  it,  and  there  is  some  amount  of 
negative  evidence  against  it.  By  defining  the  locality,  and  con- 
centrating the  race  to  be  destroyed,  the  probability  is  increased 
of  finding  human  remains  for  the  proof  of  it:  But  what  is  the 
period,  which  runs  back,  not  to  the  age  of  Noah,  but  immeasurably  beyond 
the  date  of  the  creation  of  man,  and  his  contemporary  plants  and  ani- 
mals."—Dr.  Pye  Smith,  Scrip.  Geo.  Sec.  Ed.  p.  146. 

*  Schol.  in  Gen.,  vol.  I,  p.  92-94.  See  also  King's  Morsels  of  Criticism, 
V.  III.  p.  103-108. 

t  Mesopotamia  and  Persia,  and  part  of  Afghanistan,  and  Turkistan, 
taken  generally.  Vossius,  also,  contends,  that  mankind  had  not  then 
extended  themselves  beyond  the  borders  of  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  and 
says,  "no  reason  obliges  us  to  extend  the  inundation  of  the  deluge 
beyond  those  bounds  which  were  inhabited." —  Treatise  of  the  True  Age 
of  the  World. 

Coetlogon  places  mankind,  at  this  period,  at  the  confluent  of  the  two 
great  rivers,  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  and  supposes  the  deluge  to  have 
been  occasioned  by  their  overflow.  —  His  Universal  History  of  Arts  and 
Scietices.    Art.  Antediluvians. 


M-ODER.N    INTERPRETATION.  291 

fact  ?  It  is  notorious  that  no  bed,  produced  by  diluvial  action,  has 
ever  been  discovered,  which  contained  a  single  bone  or  tooth  of 
the  human  species.  Dr.  A.  Clarke  calculates,  that  within  the  first 
128  years  of  the  world,  there  were  upwards  of  half  a  million  of 
inhabitants :  taking  the  same  data  on  which  he  computed,  and  car- 
rying it  down  to  1656,  a.  m.,  the  year  of  the  flood,  according  to 
Archbishop  Usher,  there  must  have  been  a  population  of  many 
millions.  Is  it  not  remarkable,  then,  that  if  such  an  immense 
number  of  persons  perished  in  the  way  supposed,  and  within  the 
limited  district  pointed  out,  that  there  should  not  be  discovered 
any  remains  to  prove  it  ?  It  is  by  no  means  unreasonable  to 
€xpect,  that  such  a  proof  might  be  produced,  if  tiie  event  hap- 
pened in  the  way  it  is  interpreted.  How,  then,  have  the  traces 
and  marks  of  the  catastrophe  been  so  completely  effaced  and 
destroyed  in  reference  to  humanity,  when  we  find  a  great  variety 
of  remains  belonging  to  other  different  departments  of  animated 
nature,  which  have  been  submerged  for  incalculable  periods,  and, 
by  the  action  of  water,  imbedded  in  numerous  rocks  and  strata  of 
the  earth  ?  We  cannot  answer  this  question.  It  is  for  those  to 
do  so  who  have  adopted  the  hypothesis  which  has  suggested  it. 

The  phenomena,  then,  to  which  the  theologians  of  the  last  cen- 
tury appealed,  as  proofs  that  the  Mosaic  descnption  of  the  deluge 
referred  to  an  overflow  of  the  earth  by  water,  about  four  thousand^ 
years  ago,  upon  the  fullest  inquiry,  made  by  competent  authorities, 
prove  no  such  thing !  The  whole  of  such  phenomena,  are  demon- 
strated to  have  resulted  from  a  long-sustained  action  of  aqueous 
currents  and  local  submergence,  and  not  from  a  universal  and 
steady  overflow  of  only  one  year's  duration,  as  expressed  in  the 
narrative ;  such  a  source  of  proof  is  now  abandoned  by  many, 
whose  theological  bias  would  have  kept  them  to  it  with  the  utmost 
pertinacity,  if  it  could  have  been  done  with  any  consistency,  after 
the  production  of  such  incontestable  physical  evidence  to  the 
contrary. 

And  the  modern  interpretation  of  the  narrative,  is  not  much  bet- 
ter substantiated.  It  is  said  to  have  been  universal  in  respect  to 
man  only,  but  limited  to  some  geographical  district.  Thus,  the 
idea  of  its  having  been  a  physical  occurrence,  is  still  maintained, 
though  not  a  single  physical  proof  of  it  can  be  produced  !  Men 
have  been  so  long  accustomed  to  view  it  in  that  light,  that  not- 
withstanding the  difficulties  by  which  it  is  surrounded,  they  are 
reluctant  to  behold  it  in  any  other.    We,  however,  as  before  ob- 


292  ANTEDILFVIAN   HISTORF. 

served,  have  no  doubt  that  time  and  further  iiMjuky  will  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  an  entirely  different  opinion.  By  relinquishing^ 
the  literal  interpretation,  the  authority  of  the  narrative  is  not  re- 
nounced ;  it  is  only  a  giving  up  of  the  ideas  which  men  have 
attached  to  it,  from  a  want  of  acquaintance  with  this  ancient  and 
divine  style  of  composition :  its  religious  value,  and  sacred  import- 
ance, will  remain  in  all  their  integrity,  if  we  consider  it  to  be 
a  figurative  description  of  spiritual  phenomena  only  ;  —  a  figure, 
nevertheless,  provided,  in  all  probability,  by  the  occurrence  of  some 
local  flood,  which  had  happened,  and  in  which  many  members  of 
society  had  disastrously  perished. 

We  may  be  reminded,  that  the  event  is  alluded  to  in  other  parts 
of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  so.  Ezekiel  mentions  Noah^s  name  twice, 
(Ezekiel  xiv.  14,  20 ;)  and  Isaiah  speaks  of  the  waters  of  Noah. 
(Isaiah  liv.  9.)  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  referred  to  it  as  a  general 
calamity ;  (Matt.  xxiv.  37,  39 ;  Luke  xvii.  26,  27 ;)  so  also,  do  his. 
apostles  Paul,  (Heb.  xi.  7 ;}  and  Peter :  (Peter  1,  Epist.  iii.  20  ;  2 
Epist.  iii.  6 :)  but  the  object  of  those  references  is  not  to  set  forth 
the  physical  nature  of  the  circumstance.  None  of  those  parties 
speak  of  it  in  that  light  at  all :  nor  is  there  any  abstract  allusion 
made  to  the  catastrophe.  It  is  mentioned  incidentally,  and  with 
the  view  of  supporting  some  other  truth ;  it  is  contemplated  merely 
as  a  calamity,  but  whether  it  was  of  a  natural  or  spiritual  kind  is 
not  declared.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  if  it  had  been  a  natural 
event,  that  it  would  have  been  referred  to,  ^vitli  great  frequency 
and  force,  in  other  portions  of  the  Word.  This  is  the  case  with 
many  other  circumstances  of  actual  history :  it  is  very  conspicuous 
in  the  case  of  the  liberation  of  the  sons  of  Israel  from  Egyptian 
bondage.  Their  unhappy  condition  in  that  country,  and  the'  ad- 
vantages of  their  having  been  delivered  therefrom,  are  alluded  toy 
with  more  or  less  emphasis,  in  almost  all  the  books  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures :  whereas,  the  flood  is  only  once  hinted  at,  and  that  in 
the  way  of  figure !  Surely  there  must  have  been  some  cause  for 
this  ;  and  may  not  that  cause  have  been  its  spiritual  character,  and 
thus  its  unsuitableness  for  beir^  appreciated  by  so  sensual  a  peo- 
ple as  the  Jews  most  unquestionably  were.  But,  witliout  insisting 
upon  these  points,  we  think  that  a  legitimate  argument  could  be 
drawn,  from  the  connection  in  which  the  above  passages  occur,  to 
show  that  the  writers  and  the  Divine  speaker  regarded  it  as  spirit- 
ual transaction :  but  of  this  again. 

O'^r  attention  may  he  directed  to  the  traditions  of  such  an  event. 


TRADITIONS   OP  A   DELtTGE.  293 

which  are  found  to  prevail  in  almost  every  part  of  the  world.  To 
what  we  have  already  said  upon  this  subject  we  have  but  little  to 
add.*  Details  of  those  traditions  have  been  learnedly  collected 
by  Mr.  Bryant,  and  preserved  in  his  "  Ancient  Mythology.^  Other 
writers  have  usefully  and  learnedly  pursued  a  similar  study.  Mr. 
Sharon  Turner,  in  his  "  Sacred  History  of  the  World"  has  referred 
to  such  traditions  somewhat  extensively,  and  attempted  an  elabor- 
ate argument,  to  prove  from  them  the  certainty  of  the  deluge.  It 
would  have  been  a  more  satisfactory  effort,  if  he  had  shown  the 
kind  of  deluge  referred  to  by  them :  this  point  is  assumed  to  have 
been  a  natural  phenomena ;  —  it  was  prejudged  to  be  so,  but  it  is 
not  proved.  It  must  be  confessed,  that  some  of  those  traditions 
are  exceedingly  remote,  obscure,  and  rude,  and  that  much  scope 
has  to  be  given  to  the  imagination,  in  order  to  establish  any  iden- 
tity between  them  and  that  of  the  Mosaic  record.f  But,  although 
we  may  admit  that  there  is  a  number  of  them  sufficiently  plain  to 
show,  that  they  do  refer  to  some  circumstance  denominated  the 
flood ;  still,  this  does  not  concede  them  to  mean  an  overflow  of 

*  See  pp.  33,  34.  It  is  highly  probable,  that  many  of  the  traditions 
referred  to,  did  not  arise  from  the  event  spoken  of  in  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures ;  but  from  some  destructive  local  inundations,  by  which  the  nations 
had  been  visited ;  for  there  is  scarcely  a  country  to  be  mentioned,  but 
what  has  experienced  some  extensive  disaster  of  the  kind,  and  of  which 
there  are  either  historic  or  traditional  reminiscences.  It  is  proper  to  dis- 
tinguish, in  an  inquiry  of  this  sort,  between  the  traditions  of  a  deluge, 
and  the  deluge  spoken  of  by  Moses.  It  is  plain,  that  many  which  are 
mentioned  by  writers  on  this  subject,  have  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  it. 

t  For  instance,  the  EaYrxiAN  tradition,  as  related  by  Diodorus 
JSiculus,  when  speaking  of  their  persuasion,  that  they  were  the  first  of 
mankind,  is  this  :  "  They  say,  on  the  whole,  that  either  in  the  flood, 
which  occurred  in  the  time  of  Deucalion,  the  greatest  part  of  living  things 
perished  ;  but,  that  it  was  likely,  that  those  who  inhabited  Egypt  so  much 
to  the  south,  and  so  free  from  rain,  were  mostly  preserved  ;  or,  as  some 
declare,  that  all  that  were  alive  being  destroyed,  the  earth  again  brought 
forth  new  natures  of  animals  from  their  beginning."  —  Diod.  Sic. 
1,  i.  p.  10. 

The  Greek  tradition  is  given  by  ApoUodorus,  thus  :  "  When  Jupiter 
determined  to  destroy  the  brazen  race,  Deucalion,  by  the  advice  of  Pro- 
metheus, made  a  great  ark,  Xapvaxa,  put  into  it  all  necessary  things,  and 
entered  it,  with  Pyrrha.  Jupiter  then,  pouring  down  heavy  rains  from 
heaven,  overwhelmed  the  greatest  part  of  Greece,  so  that  all  men  perished, 
except  a  few  who  fled  to  the  highest  mountains.  He  floated  nine  days 
and  nights  on  the  sea  of  waters,  and  at  last,  stopped  on  mount  Parnassus. 
Then  Jupiter  sent  Mercury  to  ask  him  what  he  wished ;  and  he  solicited, 
-  25* 


294  ANtEDlLtJVIAPI   HlSTOEf. 

natutal  water.  Some  spiritual  calamity,  which  bad  befallen  s 
people,  among  whom  figurative  language  was  in  high  repute,  might 
have  been  spoken  of  in  such  terms  ;  but  as  the  right  signification 
of  them  was  lost  in  after  ages,  mankind  would  then,  very  natu- 
rally, regard  them  to  express  a  physical  event.  Tltat  tradition 
may  arise  from  such  a  source,  is  very  evident ;  and  that  the  views 
which  they  were  originally  intended  to  express,  may,  by  the  diver- 
sity of  national  genius,  prejudices,  vanity,  or  ambition,  have  their 
signification  entirely  changed,  will  scarcely  be  doubted.  It  is  plain 
that  this  has  been  the  case.  The  generality  of  those  traditions 
which  have  been  collected  upon  this  subject,  and  which  are  found 
to  prevail  in  those  countries  where  the  Christian  Scriptures  are 
not  known,  show,  most  conclusively,  how  the  original  idea,  what- 
ever it  was,  has  been  mixed  up  with  some  national  circumstance. 
We,  therefore,  hold,  that  it  is  not  enough  for  tlie  point  in  hand, 
to  show  tliat  there  are  such  traditions,  or,  that  they  have  been 
for  many  generations  understood  to  refer  to  a  deluge  of  natural 
waters  ;  and  we  contend,  that  to  make  out  such  an  understanding 
of  those  traditions  to  be  correct,  it  is  requisite,  first  to  define  tlie 
true  meaning  of  what  is  thought  to  be  the  historic  source  of  them. 
This  source  must  have  been  Noah's  description,  and  that  must 
have  partaken  of  the  same  character,  genius,  and  truth,  as  are 
found  in  the  Scripture  narrative.  The  whole  inquiry,  therefore^ 
resolves  itself  back  to  the  Mosaic  record.  It  is  the  meaning  of 
that  document,  and  not  the  ideas  which  tradition  may  be  supposed 
to  speak,  which  has  to  be  determined. 

Most  persons  are  aware,  that  tradition  presents  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects, with  which  it  has  dealt,  in  a  light  very  difierent  from  that, 
in  which  they  originally  transpired.  A  sensible  writer  observes, 
*'  Those  who  know  how,  even  in  our  own  days,  reports  are  changed 
and  embellished,  how  some  features  are  omitted  and  others  added, 
during  the  process  of  passing  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  how,  in 

that  mankind  might  be  made  again.  Jupiter  bade  him  throw  stones  over 
his  head,  from  which  men  should  come ;  and,  that  those  cast  by  Pyrrha, 
should  be  turned  into  women."  —  ApolL,  1.  i.  p.  23. 

The  Chinese  tradition  is  the  following  statement,  by  Confucius : 
"  Alas !  the  deluging  states  are  spreading  destruction.  They  surround 
the  mountains.  They  overtop  the  hills.  They  rise  high,  and  extend 
wide  as  the  spacious  vault  of  heaven."  —  Dr.  Mornson,  in  his  Preface  to 
the  Chinese  Dictionary. 

These  citations  are  as  they  are  given  by  Sharon  Turner,  in  his  Sacred 
History  of  the  World,  vol.  ii.  pp.  313,  314,  324. 


DESCRIPTION    THE    SOTTRCE    OF    THE    TRADITION.        295 

the  end,  they  frequently  assume  a  totally  different  aspect  from  that 
•which  they  originally  had,  will  readily  admit,  that  such  traditions 
caimot  he  received  with  the  same  faith  as  contemporary  history. 
We  may  add,  that  the  more  important  the  occurrence  handed  down 
by  tradition  is,  and  the  more  it  affects  the  feelings  and  passions  of 
man,  the  greater  will  be  the  changes  and  corruptions  which  it  will 
experience  in  its  progress.  The  desire  of  seeing  things  clear  and 
complete,  is  inherent  in  the  human  mind ;  and  hence  we  find,  that 
in  innumerable  instances,  when  a  tradition,  or  a  series  of  traditions, 
was  deficient,  unclear,  or  incomplete,  man's  imagination  and  inge- 
nuity have  been  £^t  work,  to  make  up  an  apparently  complete  ac- 
count, either  by  filling  up  the  gaps  in  the  original  account  with 
pure  fictions,  or  by  transferring  and  combining  events  which  be- 
long to  different  times  and  countries.  Specimens  of  traditions  of 
this  kind,  may  be  found  in  great  numbers,  in  the  early  history  of 
every  nation."  (Penny  Cyclopcedia.  Art.  Tradition.)  It  is  hence, 
evident,  that  the  prevalence  of  traditions  concerning  the  deluge 
having  been  an  inundation  of  waters,  is  no  proof  that  that  was  the 
idea  attached  to  the  original  description.  They  must  have  sprung 
from  a  description,  whatever  view  may  be  taken  of  the  circum- 
stance, and  the  Noetic  people,  as  the  only  recorded  survivors  of  it, 
must  have  been  its  authors,  and  the  first  communicators  of  it  to 
their  descendants.  That  the  sense  of  the  original  information 
concerning  it,  has  been  essentially  altered,  in  consequence  of  pass- 
ing through  such  a  diversified  series  of  sensual  and  pei-verting 
channels,  may  be  reasonably  supposed.  What  is  more  likely  to 
have  transpired  with  a  narrative  of  spiritual  things  couched  in  the 
form  of  factitious  history,  than  that  it  would  come  to  be  under- 
stood in  a  literal  sense,  as  men  sunk  more  and  more  deeply  into 
naturalism.  And  does  not  the  supposition  of  its  having  been  a 
figurative  narrative,  better  account  for  those  great  differences 
which  tradition  presents,  than  the  popular  idea  can  possibly  do  ? 
Surely,  such  a  view  is  more  likely  to  have  been  spread  into  a 
greater  variety  of  modes  of  thinking  and  speaking  about  it,  than 
the  record  of  a  purely  physical  transaction  would  admit.  At  all 
events,  the  utmost  that  can  be  said  of  those  traditions  is,  that  they 
speak  of  a  deluge  which  is  now  considered  to  have  been  an  inun- 
dation of  waters,  but  that  they  do  not  contain  any  evidence  to 
show,  that  such  was  the  meaning  of  the  description  from  which 
they  originally  sprung,  or,  that  such  is  the  sense  in  which  the 
Scripture  narrative  ought  to  be  understood. 


296  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

Hence,  neither  science  nor  tradition,  contributes  any  information, 
essential  to  unfold  the  meaning  of  this  remarkable  point  in  the 
Mosaic  records.  Indeed,  it  has  been  felt,  by  some  of  the  most  able 
literal  critics,  that  although  science  might,  if  rightly  interrogated, 
afford  some  collateral  testimony  to  the  idea  of  Moses  having  re- 
corded a  physical  circumstance,  still  it  is  found  to  be  perplexed 
with  so  many  difficulties,  that  in  order  to  relieve  the  embarrassment, 
they  assert  it  to  have  been  a  miracle.*  Of  course,  this  view  of  the 
subject  overcomes  the  difficulty ;  still,  it  creates  others  of  no  in- 
considerable weight.  Science,  so  far  as  it  investigates  the  usual 
laws  and  general  phenomena  of  nature,  can  have  nothing  to  do 
with  a  transaction,  brought  about  by  a  supernatural  means  and  fiat, 
of  which  it  can  know  nothing.  Reason  must  be  silent  where  a 
miracle  is  declared.  •  But  if  the  flood  was  miraculously  produced, 
it  must  have  been  supernaturally  sustained  and  terminated,  and  all 
its  evidences  miraculously  effaced :  as  such,  it  has  no  analogy  to 
any  of  those  events  which  the  Scriptures  distinctly  inform  us  to 
have  been  the  result  of  special  divine  interference.  But  upon  what 
evidence  is  it  said  to  have  been  a  miracle  ?  It  is  not  so  stated  in 
the  narrative  itself,  and  the  idea  has  originated,  wholly,  in  the  dis- 
covered impossibility  of  reconciling  such  a  phenomenon  with  the 
known  laws  and  developments  of  nature.  In  short,  it  has  been 
invented  to  get  rid  of  difficulties,  which,  otherwise  would,  ere  long, 
lead  men  to  abandon  the  idea  of  the  history  referring  to  a  natural 
circumstance  at  all,  as  they  have  already  contributed  to  destroy  the 
once  orthodox  notion  of  its  universality. 

But  the  idea  of  its  having  been  a  miracle,  is  by  no  means  com- 
mon to  every  critic.  The  very  great  amount  of  supernatural  agency 
that  must  have  been  called  into  action,  and  the  gigantic  scale  over 
which  it  must  be  supposed  to  have  operated,  have  led  many  ju- 
dicious inquirers  to  hesitate,  and  doubt  the  propriety  of  adopting 
such  an  idea.  It  may  be  said,  that  to  Him  who  can  perform  them, 
all  miracles  are  alike  :  that  the  greatest  can  present  no  more  ob- 
stacles to  Omnipotence  than  the  leastf     But  however  plausible 

*  "  As  there  was  a  peculiar  exercise  of  the  Almighty  power  of  God  in 
effecting  the  deluge,  it  is  vain  and  presumptuous  to  attempt  explaining 
the  method  of  it  on  the  principles  of  philosophy."  —  Comment.  Henry 
and  Scott. 

t  "  There  is  no  difficulty  with  God  to  perform  any  thing ;  no  greater 
endeavor  or  activity  to  produce  the  greatest  than  the  least  of  creatures  ; 
but  an  equal  facility  in  reference  to  all  things,  which  cannot  be  imagined 
but  by  an  infinite  excess  of  power  above,  and  beyond  all  resistance.^'  — 
Bishop  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  p.  287. 


OMNIPOTENCE.  297 

this  may  seem,  it  overlooks  one  great  principle,  which  is,  that 
Omnipotence,  because  it  is  an  attribute  of  the  God  of  Order,  must 
be  regulated  by  the  laws  of  order.  Neither  God,  nor  any  of  His 
attributes,  act  independently  of  laws.  From  inattention  to  this 
fact,  innumerable  things  have  been  thought  possible  to  Omnipo- 
tence,* which  a  judicious  consideration  must  show  to  be  otherwise. 
It  is  most  true,  that,  "  with  God  all  things  are  possible,"  (Matt. 
xix.  26 ;)  that  is,  all  things  consistent  with  His  wisdom  and  His 
goodness.  But  those  who  overlook  this  fact,  sometimes  run  into 
great  extravagance  of  opinion.  They  are  deterred  by  no  difficulty, 
nor  awed  by  any  improbability.  They  omit  the  word  impossible 
from  their  theological  vocabulary,  and  find,  in  the  term  Omnipo- 
tence, all  that  any  difficult  hypothesis  could  wish  for,  or  any  press- 
ing exigence  desire.  But  surely,  there  is  sorne  mistake,  not  to  say 
irreverence,  in  making  thus  free  with  a  divine  attribute,  to  unfasten 
the  knot,  which,  after  all,  human  ignorance  or  perversity  may  have 
tied.  There  are  some  things  which  we  believe  Omnipotence  can- 
not do,  not  that  God  wants  the  power,  but  because  they  would  be 
contrary  to  His  purity  and  character.  Indeed,  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  He  has  the  power  to  make  another  equal  to  Himself:  if 
He  has,  no  idea  of  it  is  conceivable  by  man.  We  do  not  think  it  ir- 
reverent to  say,that  God  could  not  have  created  a  better  universe  than 
He  has ;  we  could  not  think  so  without  impeaching  both  His  knowl- 
edge and  His  goodness.  We  see  Omnipotence  displayed  in  nature, 
but  we  also  see  that  it  operates  according  to  some  orderly  laws : 
there  are  several  instances  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  in  which 
it  was  specially  displayed,  yet  there  are  none  in  which  it  was  lav- 
ishly exhibited,  or  any  in  which  it  was  extended  beyond  the  imme- 
diate occasion  for  it,  and  in  all  of  them  it  must,  also,  have  operated 
according  to  some  orderly  law.  Whatsoever  God  does,  must  be 
regulated  and  influenced  by  His  wisdom  and  benevolence.  There 
can  be  no  exceptions.  Every  effect  in  nature  is  the  result  of  some 
•law  peculiar  to  itself:  and  the  miracles,  so  far  as  they  were  effects 
in  nature,  must  also  have  originated  in  laws  peculiar  to  themselves. 
The  planets  revolve,  trees  grow,  animals  live,  and  man  exists ;  but 
each  department  of  nature  by  its  own  respective  laws.  The  laws 
which  result  in  the  production  of  an  oak,  are  different  from  those, 
which  conduce  to  the  existence  of  a  man.     The  Lord,  in  guiding 

*  "  Is  it  not  possible  for  God  to  change  an  ox  or  a  stone  into  a  rational 
philosopher,  or  a  child  of  Abraham  ?  To  change  a  man  or  a  woman  into 
an  angel  of  heaven  ?  Poor  omnipotence  which  cannot  do  this  !  "  —  Rev, 
J.  Wesley,  A.  M.,  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Law,  in  Wesley's  Works,  p.  356. 


298  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

the  laws  which  produce  vegetation,  does  not  interfere  with  those 
which  contribute  to  humanity.  They  are  distinct  productions, 
growing  out  of  the  activity  of  different  laws.  Thus,  every  effect 
in  nature,  comes  into  existence  by  the  operation  of  its  own  orderly 
laws,  and  we  cannot  view  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  Word,  in 
any  other  light.  It  does  not  appear  to  us,  to  have  been  any  more 
requisite  to  interfere  with  the  conmion  laws  of  nature,  in  order  to 
produce  a  miracle,  than  it  is  requisite  to  suspend  the  laws  of  vege- 
tation in  order  to  produce  a  man.  Miracles,  as  specific  productions, 
must  have  been  the  result  of  specific  laws,  operating  in  harmony 
with  the  designs  of  infinite  beneficence.  A  miracle  may  be  called 
a  new  temporary  creation,  mercifully  made  to  arise  out  of  the  wants 
of  a  low  and  depressed  condition  of  human  character.  They  have 
been  performed  only  in  times  of  darkness  and  distress :  they  have 
ceased,  as  virtue  and  intelligence  have  been  enabled  to  fix  them- 
selves with  men.  In  the  Jewish  church,  external  miracles  stood 
in  the  place  of  internal  intelligence :  in  the  Christian  church, 
spiritual  intelligence  supplies  the  place  of  outward  miracles :  and, 
as  the  Christian  dispensation  is  more  excellent  than  the  Jewish,  so 
intelligence  is  superior  to  a  miracle,  as  a  means  of  forwarding  the 
designs  of  God  for  leading  men  to  heaven.* 

Those  who  make  so  free  witli  Omnipotence,  as  to  suppose  that 
it  can  do  any  thing  which  their  imaginations  may  suggest,  have 
not  been  rightly  informed  concerning  it.  "  God  is  not  the  author 
of  confusion."  (1  Cor.  xiv.  33.)  He  acts  omnipotently,  Avhen  he 
acts  according  to  order :  and  a  true  idea  of  this  divine  attribute 
can  be  formed,  only  by  connecting  its  operations  with  the  laws  of 
order.  God  is  essential  order,  because  He  is  love  itself  and  wis- 
dom itself.  The  universe  and  all  its  parts  were  created  in  order 
and  with  order.  The  order  of  creation,  and  its  laws,  are  physical 
evidences,  showing  that  God  operates  in  these  things  according  to 
fixed  principles.  Omnipotence  was  necessary  to  produce  creation ; 
Omnipotence  is  requisite  to  preserve  it.  These  results  are  effected 
by  Omnipotence,  through  the  laws  of  order ;  whence  it  is  plain, 
that  God  acts  omnipotently  by  means  thereof. 

Every  thing  is  what  it  is,  by  means  of  the  order,  and  consequent- 
ly, of  the  laws  of  its  existence.  Man  is  distinguished  from  the 
animal,  the  fowls  from  the  fish,  and  the  tree  from  the  stone,  by  the 
laws  of  order,  which  are  proper  to  their  being.     This  is  a  universal 

*  See  these  views  more  extensively  treated,  in  a  Discourse, 'by  the 
Author,  on  the  i^'Cvealed  Nature  and  Orderly  Operations  of  Omnipo- 
tence. 


THE  DELUGE  NOT  A  PHYSICAL '  EVENT.       299 

truth.  To  change  the  laws  of  existence,  is  the  same  act  as  to 
change  the  things  themselves.  This  fact  being  disclosed  in  every 
department  of  nature,  is  a  plain  revelation,  that  God  is  God  by 
virtue  of  the  laws  which  are  appropriate  to  His  being ;  and  con- 
sequently, that  He  can  no  more  depart  from  the  laws  of  His  own 
nature,  and  remain  a  God,  than  man,  if  deprived  of  the  laws  of 
manhood,  could  remain  a  man.  Hence,  it  is  easy  to  see,  that  the 
order  appropriate  to  the  Divine  Being,  can  only  render  itself  man- 
ifest, by  the  invariable  observance  of  His  own  laws,  —  laws  which 
have  been  provided  by  His  own  infinite  understanding. 

The  omnipotence  which  the  miracles  display,  is  to  be  considered 
as  special  instances  for  special  purposes  ;  but  that,  in  no  case  was 
there  any  interference  with  the  established  laws  and  orderly  ope- 
rations of  the  universe.  The  wisdom  of  God  would  not  have  fixed 
certain  laws  of  action  at  one  time,  which  that  same  wisdom  must 
have  foreseen  would  afterwards  have  to  be  disrupted,  to  bring  about 
some  other  end.  This,  however,  must  have  been  the  case,  if  the 
flood  were  a  miracle  of  the  kind  supposed.  If  that  event  took 
place  according  to  the  popular  apprehension,  it  was  a  miracle, 
which  has  no  analogy  with  any  other  that  is  recorded  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  it  would  not  only  have  inverted  the  whole  order  of  the 
earth's  condition,  but,  also,  have  disturbed  its  orbicular  and  other 
motions,  and  so  have  interfered  with  all  the  laws  of  physical  action 
throughout  the  universe.  These  consequences  show,  that  it  ought 
not  to  be  considered  a  miracle  of  such  a  kind.  But  where  is  it 
said  to  have  been  a  miracle  at  all  ?  It  is  not  so  spoken  of  in  the 
history  itself,  nor  is  it  ever  alluded  to,  as  such,  throughout  the  whole 
Scriptures.  So  far  as  the  narrative  is  viewed  in  a  literal  sense,  the 
occurrence  is  represented  to  have  resulted  from  two  natural  causes, 
namely,  "  rain,"  and  the  rising  of  water  from  some  other  source, 
called  the  "  great  deep."  The  idea  of  it  having  been  a  miracle  of 
so  stupendous  a  kind,  and  requiring  supernatural  agency  upon  so 
extensive  a  scale,  springs  wholly  out  of  the  literal  interpretation : 
it  is  this,  and  not  the  history  itself,  which  demands  it.  Commenta- 
tors have  taken  a  view  of  the  subject,  which  more  matured  in- 
quiries prove  to  involve  a  great  number  of  insuperable  difficulties, 
and  then,  to  help  themselves  out  of  these  embarrassments,  they 
assert  it  to  have  been  a  miracle,  and  plead  the  ability  of  Omnipo- 
tence to  perform  it.  The  idea  of  it  having  been  a  miracle,  in  any 
ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  has  been  engendered  by,  as  we  think, 
a  total  misapprehension  of  the  subject ;  and  the  appeal  to  Omnipo- 


300  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

tence,  for  its  execution,  is  resorted  to,  in  complete  forgetfulness  of 
its  order  and  its  laws. 

But  upon  these  points  we  cannot  longer  dwell.  What  has  been 
said  concerning  them  is  very  general,  and  partakes  in  some  measure 
of  the  character  of  a  digression.  However,  we  have  seen  from 
them,  that  neither  science  nor  tradition  contribute  any  facts,  to 
prove  the  deluge  of  the  Scriptures  to  have  been  a  natural  event ; 
and  also,  that  the  resort  to  miracle  and  Omnipotence,  though  it 
may  silence  inquiry,  overlooks  their  laws,  and  does  not  bring  any 
satisfactory  light  to  explain  the  subject.  Let  us,  then,  endeavor 
to  examine  it  upon  the  same  principles,  which  we  have  adopted 
for  the  deciphering  of  the  preceding  histories. 

In  closing  the  last  chapter,  it  was  shown,  that  the  clean  and  un- 
clean beasts,  which  Noah  took  with  him  into  the  ark,  were  very 
similar  to  the  tame  and  ferocious  animals  that  are  predicated  to  be 
in  the  Lord's  holy  mountain,  and,  that  the  signification  of  the  two 
circumstances,  closely  resemble  each  other.  It  is  easy  to  see,  that 
painful  trials  must  have  been  among  the  first  consequences  of 
clearly  discovering,  that  antagonistic  affections  and  thoughts 
existed  in  the  same  mind,  or  church :  "  for,  what  fellowship  hath 
righteousness,  with  unrighteousness  ?  what  communion  hath  light 
with  darkness."  (2  Cor.  vi.  14.)  Opposing  sentiments  and  loves 
will  not  harmonize :  the  unclean  may  be  brought  into  a  state  of 
quiescence  and  subjection  to  the  clean,  but  the  process  for  effect- 
ing it,  is  one  of  great  anxiety  and  temptation.  Temptations,  then, 
are  the  subjects,  which  we  believe  to  be  treated  of,  under  the  figure 
of  a  flood.  These,  with  the  Noetic  people,  were  the  means  of 
purification  and  safety,  because  they  provided  for  the  emergency, 
and  were  enabled  to  overcome  it ;  while  all  those  who  yielded  to 
their  influence,  necessarily  perished.  This  is  the  spiritual  philos- 
ophy of  the- circumstance,  and  the  instruction  it  was  intended  to 
communicate:  as  such,  it  harmonizes  with  the  whole  scope  of 
revelation,  which  is,  to  warn  us  against  evil,  and  teach  us  the  way 
to  good.  Temptation  is  one  of  those  means,  by  which  the  regen- 
eration of  the  well-disposed  is  promoted  ;  it  also  brings  about  the 
desolation,  and  consequent  destruction  of  all  those,  in  whom  evil 
obliterates  the  capacity  for  elevation.  But  to  understand  this  mat- 
ter, it  will  be  necessary  to  make  ourselves  acquainted  with  its 
nature. 

Temptations  consist  in  all  those  things,  by  which  men  are  in- 
fluenced to  think,  and  so  to  believe,  what  is  false ;  and  to  love,  and 


ORIGIN    OF    TEMPTATIONS.  301 

SO  to  do,  what  is  evil.  The  internal  straits,  mental  pangs  and  dis- 
tress, which  are  experienced  during  their  operation,  arise  from  the 
resistance,  by  which  those  influences  are  met,  by  something  that 
is  good  and  true  in  the  internal  man.  The  experience  of  tempta- 
tion, may  be  taken  as  a  proof,  that  man  is  inclined  towards  the 
evils  which  they  suggest.  But  for  this  tendency,  he  could  not  be 
tempted.  When  a  man  is  tempted,  it  is  a  sort  of  revelation  to  him, 
that  he  has  a  bias  in  that  direction,  and  of  this  fact,  it  is  important 
that  lie  should  be  aware,  if  he  would  successfully  resist  and  over- 
come it.  It  is  also  true,  that  the  experience  of  temptation,  proves 
that  there  have  been  present  in  its  subject,  some  degree  of  charity 
and  faith ;  since,  without  these,  he  would  not  be  qualified  to  see  its 
danger,  or  feel  its  pain. 

But  whence  do  these  temptations  originate,  and  what  are  the 
sources  of  their  resistance  ?  To  answer  these  questions  satisfac- 
torily, we  must  go  one  degree  further  back  in  the  inquiry,  than 
what  is  usually  contemplated.  It  is  a  doctrine  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, frequently  expressed  with  much  clearness,  that  man  is,  by 
virtue  of  his  spiritual  nature,  in  association  with  certain  inhabitants 
of  the  spiritual  world ;  that  so  far  as  he  is  possessed  of  any  thing 
that  is  good  and  true,  he  is  the  companion  of  some  of  those  happy 
beings,  whom  the  Lord  sends  forth,  to  minister  to  those  who  shall 
be  heirs  of  salvation :  and  also,  that  so  far  as  he  is  principled  in 
any  thing  that  is  evil  and  false,  so  far  he  is  the  confederate  of  some 
of  those  spirits  of  darkness,  who  are  called  the  devil  and  satan. 
But  that,  because  man  is  more  or  less  of  a  mixed  character,  there 
are  attendant  upon  him,  during  his  lifetime  in  the  world,  spiritual 
beings,  of  each  class  ;  evil  spirits,  who  excite  man's  fallen  propen- 
sities, and  good  spirits,  who  defend  him  by  means  of  any  intelli- 
gence or  virtue  he  may  have  cherished.  The  pains  of  temptation, 
arise  from  these  combats  and  resistance. 

That  some  may  doubt  the  circumstance  of  good  and  evil  spirits, 
attendant  upon  the  human  race,  is  to  be  expected.  The  world  is 
not  yet  cleared  of  sceptics  in  spiritual  things ;  mere  naturalism  may 
have  its  advocates  for  a  long  time  yet,  but  this  is  no  evidence  against 
the  fact,  that  invisible  spiritual  beings  do  exercise  an  influence  over 
men's  sentiments  and  conduct.  The  sensualist  may  say,  this  opin- 
ion is  superstition ;  but  the  Scriptures  set  it  forth  as  a  fact,  and 
there  are  phenomena  to  prove  it  so.  All  persons,  who  have  attend- 
ed to  what  frequently  takes  place  in  their  own  minds,  possess  the 
evidence.  Hotv  suddenly  do  thought  and  feelings  sometimes  arise 
26 


302  ANTEDILXrVIAN    HISTORY. 

in  the  mind,  even  when  it  is  directed  some  other  way,  and  to  the 
production  of  which,  neither  premeditation  nor  desire  has  contrib- 
uted. They  spring  up  spontaneously :  sometimes,  they  are  of  a 
favorable  and  encouraging  description,  and  at  others,  they  are  of  a 
most  fearful  and  diabolical  character.  Whence  do  they  come? 
We  are  not  sensible  of  having  made  any  effort  to  produce  them, 
yet  there  they  are.  These  experiences,  when  connected  with  the 
assertion  of  the  Scriptures,  that  good  and  evil  spirits  are  present 
with  the  human  race,*  enable  us  to  conclude,  very  reasonably, 
concerning  their  origin. 

But  whatever  hesitation  there  may  be,  to  accept  this  view  of  the 
source  of  temptations,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  their  existence. 
In  general,  they  are  of  two  kinds :  those  which  affect  the  under- 
standing, and  any  truths  it  may  possess,  and  those  which  act  upon 
the  will,  and  any  goodness  it  may  have  acquired.  When  men  are 
tempted  to  doubt,  and  so  to  reject,  the  truths  in  which  they  have 
been  educated,  and  with  the  value  of  which  they  have  been  favor- 
ably impressed,  they  will  find,  if  they  are  attentive  to  what  is 
taking  place  within  them,  that  there  is,  at  the  same  time,  excited 
the  remembrance  of  many  evil  actions,  of  which  they  have  been 
guilty ;  these  will  be  attended  with  numerous  anxieties,  and  they 
will  produce  much  perturbation  and  painful  disquiet ;  still,  these 
temptations  are  somewhat  mild,  when  compared  with  those  which 
assail  the  will,  and  any  of  the  good  things  which  affection  and  habit 
may  have  fixed  upon  it.  If  those  who  suffer  from  these  tempta- 
tions, will  carefully  observe  what  is  transpiring  in  their  minds,  they 
will  find,  that  they  are  not  so  much  distressed  by  the  recollection 
of  the  misconduct,  into  which  they  might  have  fallen,  as  by  some 
powerful  influence,  urging  them  on  to  gratify  some  cupidity,  or  to 
indulge  some  Tust ;  and  also,  that  a  restlessness  of  feeling  and 
moral  agony,  attended  by  an  obscurity  concerning  truth,  will  pre- 

*  Psalm  xxxiv.  7:  "  The  angel  of  the  -Lord  encampeth  round  about 
them  that  fear  him."  xci.  11  :  "He  shall  give  His  angels  charge  over 
them,  to  keep  them  in  all  Thy  ways."  1  Pet.  v,  8  :  "  Your  adversary  the 
devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour." 

Dr.  S.  Johnson,  in  his  Philosophical  Tale  of  "Rasselas,"  has  made 
Imlac,  in  speaking  of  a  kindred  subject,  say,  "  This  opinion,  which  per- 
haps prevails  as  far  as  human  nature  is  diffused,  could  become  universal 
only  by  its  truth  :  those  that  never  heard  of  one  another,  would  not  have 
agreed  in  a  tale,  which  nothing  but  experience  can  make  credible.  That 
it  is  doubted  by  single  cavillers,  can  very  little  weaken  the  general  evi- 
dence :  and  some  who  deny  it  with  their  tongues,  confess  it  by  their  fears." 


NATURE    OF   TEMPTATIONS.  303 

vail,  according  to  the  depth  and  severity  of  the  temptation  that  is 
endured. 

These  temptations  are  productive  of  two*  different  consequences, 
according  to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  received  by  the  subject 
of  them.  It  must  needs  be,  that  temptations  will  come,  and  woe 
is  the  unavoidable  result  of  their  activity.  But  those  who  resist 
them,  increase  their  virtues,  and  so  are  saved ;  while  those  who 
yield  to  them,  enlarge  their  vices,  and  so  must  perish.  Hence, 
the  antediluvians,  whose  wickedness  was  great,  were  destroyed, 
while  those  whose  obedience  gave  them  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord,  were  saved.  The  wicked  take  in  the  evils  of  temptation, 
like  sponges  imbibing  water:  the  good  repel  them,  and,  in  the 
act  of  that  resistance,  they  increase  the  sources  and  energies  of 
virtue,  till  at  last,  their  charactei-s  are  raised  above  them.  Noah 
is  called  righteous,  because  of  his  resistance,  and  he  was  saved 
in  consequence.  The  grace  and  righteousness  said  to  have  been 
found  in  him,  were  the  qualification,  by  which,  as  it  is  written, 
he  did  according  to  all  that  God  commanded  him. 

As  man,  in  his  fallen  state,  is  inclined  to  what  is  evil  and  false ; 
and  as  the  Lord  is  solicitous  to  raise  him  out  of  that  degradation, 
he  must,  in  order  to  effect  it,  experience  temptation.  His  affec- 
tions cannot  be  changed  from  iniquity  to  holiness,  without  the 
endurance  of  a  struggle.  The  impression,  which  earthly  and 
sensual  delights  have  made  upon  his  character,  render  it  difficult 
to  lift  him  out  of  it,  and  the  act  of  so  doing,  wdll  be  attended  with 
resistance.  He  is  closely  attached  to  worldly  things  ;  and  it 
requires  more  effort  to  produce  the  separation,  than  it  does  to  con- 
tinue it,  when  it  is  accomplished.  Like  the  severance  of  iron, 
when  in  contact  with  the  magnet :  the  effort  to  sustain  the  connec- 
tion is  great,  so  long  as  they  touch  each  other ;  but  effect  their 
separation,  and  it  is  easily  maintained  But  the  difficulty  of  sep- 
arating man  from  his  evil  influences  will  be  increased,  if  he  lean 
towards  them  ;  and  if  he  entirely  refrain  from  co-oi)erating  in  the 
means  of  rescue,  his  deliverance  is  impossible.^/ The  obstacle 
however,  is  lessened,  in  proportion  to  the  force,  with  which  he 
inclines  to  what  is  good.  These  things  may  be  compared  to  a 
man,  who  has  fallen  into  bad  society,  and  whom  his  friend  en- 
deavors to  lead  away  from  them.  Such  society  is  urgent  that  he 
should  remain,  and  participate  in  their  coarse  enjoyments,  and 
treat  his  friend  with  indifference  and  disdain.  If  he  incline  to 
their  solicitation,  the  greater  is  the  difficulty  which  his  friend  will 


304  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

have  to  promote  his  rescue,  because  his  wicked  associates  are 
encouraged  by  his  inclination,  and  they  become  more  importunate , 
but  if  he  lean  towards'  the  advice  of  his  friend,  they  are  discour- 
aged, and  he  is  finally  induced  to  leave  them,  though  in  the  pro- 
cess, much  coarse  and  ribald  treatment  may  be  displayed.  The 
wicked  society  are  man's  evil  influence,  and  his  friend  is  the  Lord, 
who  is  wishful  to  deliver  him.  Although,  then,  temptations  are 
inseparable  from  man's  present  condition,  the  good  or  the  evil 
which  results,  is  largely  dependent  on  the  way  in  which  he 
employs  his  freedom.  They  who  use  it  to  resist  impurity,  are 
preserved ;  but  they  who  do  not,  will  obviously  perish.  Now  these 
temptations  are,  in  the  Scriptures,  represented  by  a  flood,  and 
their  different  effects  upon  different  classes  are  described,  by  the 
Noetic  people  having  risen  above  them,  and  the  residue  to  have 
sunk  beneath  them. 

Thus,  while  the  popular  view  of  the  subject  regards  it  to  have 
been  a  catastrophe,  relating  to  the  bodies  and  the  natural  lives  of 
men,  we  look  upon  it  to  have  been  a  calamity,  affecting  the  souls 
and  spiritual  lives  of  men,  and  thereby  to  the  injury  and  destruc- 
tion of  their  physical  existence.  It  is  written,  that  "evil  shall 
slay  the  Avicked."  (Psalm  xxxiv.  21.)  Experience  proves  that  this 
is  true  of  natural  things,  and  reason  shows  that  it  must  be  so  of 
spiritual.  The  event  called  the  flood,  is  not  to  be  considered  less 
real  to  that  ancient  community,  and  all  that  vitally  concerned 
them,  because  it  is  not  regarded  to  have  taken  place  in  the  way 
commonly  supposed.  We  believe  spiritual  things  to  be  as  real  as 
any  natural  things  can  possibly  be.  Indeed,  the  reality  of  things 
natural,  depends  for  their  existence  upon  the  reality  of  things 
spiritual,  more  or  less  remotely.  The  flood,  considered  as  a  spir- 
itual phenomenon,  was  equally,  perhaps,  more  afflicting  and  disas- 
trous to  society,  than  any  notion  which  can  be  associated  with  the 
circumstance,  considered  as  a  physical  occurrence.  Look,  for  a 
moment,  at  the  terrible  idea  of  mankind  having  been  so  powerfully 
inflamed  by  filthy  lusts  of  every  description,  that  they  were  not 
only  immersed  therein,  and  so  profaned  all  they  knew  of  spiritual 
and  religious  truth,  but  that  they  also  closed  up  every  avenue  in 
tJieir  minds,  by  which  heavenly  influence  could  reach  and  operate 
upon  their  remains :  —  look,  we  say,  for  a  moment,  steadily,  at  this 
terrible  idea  of  society,  and  surely,  it  will  be  easy  to  perceive,  tliat 
it  must  have  brought  in  upon  them  destructive  influences  as  a 
flood,  and  have  overwhelmed  in  eternal  ruin,  all  who  fell  tlierein. 


TEMPTATIONS    A    FLOOD.  305 

This  view  of  the  deluge  is  eminently  calculated  to  strike  the 
reflecting  with  dismay.  It  is  consistent  with  the  spiritual  design 
of  revelation,  to  disclose  to  posterity  spiritual  information  concern- 
ing the  moral  circumstances  of  their  predecessors,  and  the  influ- 
ences which  their  conduct  and  condition  have  had  upon  the  world. 
It  makes  known  to  us,  that  it  was  not  merely  a  scene  in  the  natu- 
ral world,  by  which  the  civilizing  influences  of  religion  were 
destroyed,  but  that  it  was  a  spiritual  circumstance,  which  afflicted 
and  destroyed  society  ;  and  that,  upon  the  principle,  "  where  the 
tree  falleth,  there  it  shall  be,"  (Eccl.  xi.  3,)  it  must  have  induced 
some  inordinate  condition  even  in  the  infernal  world ! 

But,  as  it  was  said,  the  Scriptures  speak  of  temptations  as  a 
Jiood.  For  instance,  the  Psalmist  says,  "  Save  me,  O  God ;  for 
the  waters  are  come  into  my  soul.  I  sink  in  deep  mire,  where 
there  is  no  standing:  I  am  come  into  deep  waters,  where  the 
floods  overflow  me.  Let  not  the  water  flood  overflow  me  ;  neither 
let  the  deep  swallow  me  up."  (Psalm  Ixix.  1,  2,  15.)  Here,  it  is 
plain,  that  the  waters  which  were  come  into  his  soul,  and  the 
water  floods,  from  which  he  was  so  earnestly  wishful  to  be  deliv- 
ered, were  not  floods  of  natural  water,  but  the  infestations  of  false 
principles,  by  which  he  was  so  severely  tempted  and  distressed. 
Again,  speaking  of  the  Lord's  protection  in  times  of  such  spiritual 
danger,  it  is  said,  "  For  this,  shall  every  one  that  is  godly,  pray 
unto  thee,  in  the  time  when  thou  mayest  be  found,  but,  in  the 
floods  of  great  waters,  they  shall  not  reach  him."  (Psalms  xxxii. 
6,  amended  translation.)  To  the  same  purpose,  it  is  written,  "  He 
bindeth  the  floods  from  overflowing."  (Job  xxyiii.  11.)  So,  also, 
in  the  prophet,  it  is  declared,  "  When  the  enemy  shall  come  in 
like  a  flood,  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard  against 
him."  (Isaiah  lix.  19.)  Ezekiel,  likewise,  treating  of  the  tempta- 
tions which  arise  from  false  principles,  signified  by  Egypt  and  the 
army  of  Pharaoh,  inquires,  "Who  is  this  that  cometh  up  as  a 
flood,  whose  waters  are  moved  as  rivers  ?  Egypt  riseth  up  like  a 
flood,  and  his  waters  are  moved  like  the  rivers."  (Ezek.  xlvi.  7,  8.) 
Daniel,  when  predicting  that  the  Messiah  should  be  cut  off",  and 
that  the  city  and  sanctuary  Avould  be  destroyed,  says,  "  and  the 
end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood ; "  (Dan.  ix.  26 ;)  which  plainly 
means,  that  those  evils  which  attend  the  rejection  of  the  Messiah, 
his  doctrine,  and  worship,  will  terminate  in  the  production  of  the 
most  dangerous  temptations.  Amos,  announcing  the  perversities 
of  the  Jewish  church,  describes  the  Lord  as  saying,  "  Shall  not 
26* 


30l>  ANTEDILUVIAN   HISTORY. 

the  land  tremble  for  this,  and  every  one  mourn  that  dwelleth 
therein  ?  and  it  shall  rise  up  wholly  as  a  jlood^  and  it  shall  be  cast 
out  and  drowned,  as  by  the  fiood  of  Egypt."  (Amos  viii.  8.) 
Where,  by  the  land  rising  up  as  a  flood,  is  denoted  the  church, 
inflated  by  its  false  persuasions  ;  and,  for  it  to  be  cast  out  and 
drowned,  as  by  a  flood,  signifies  the  desolation  which  their  temp- 
tations would  induce.  Many  other  illustrations  of  this  idea  could 
be  produced  from  the  Scriptures  ;  we  will,  however,  just  advert  to 
another.  The  Apocalypse,  treating  of  the  Man-Child,  born  of  the 
woman  in  heaven,  clothed  with  the  sun,  by  which  was  represented 
the  birth  of  genuine  truth  in  the  church  from  heavenly  affection, 
says,  "  And  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth  loater,  as  a  flood, 
after  the  woman,  that  he  might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away  of  the 
faod.  And  the  earth  helped  the  woman ;  and  the  earth  opened 
her  mouth  and  swallowed  up  the  flood,  which  the  dragon  cast  out 
of  his  mouth."  (Rev.  xii.  15, 16.)  Here,  by  the  serpent,  which  is 
also  called  a  dragon,  is  represented  the  sensual  condition  of  a  per- 
ishing church ;  by  the  waters,  which  issued  out  of  its  mouth  as  a 
flood,  is  denoted,  the  abundance  of  false  reasonings  and  persua- 
sions which  it  produces,  especially  with  the  view  of  overwhelming 
the  good  and  truth,  by  which  it  is  about  to  be  exposed.  By  the 
earth,  which  helped  the  woman,  is  denoted,  the  new  church,  which 
receives  and  cherishes  heavenly  affection ;  and  by  its  opening  its 
mouth,  and  swallowing  up  the  flood  which  the  dragon  cast  forth, 
are  denoted,  that  the  understanding  of  the  people  of  this  new 
church,  will  be  so  enlarged  by  truth,  that  they  will  be  capable  of 
resisting  and  dissipating  all  the  temptations  which  sensual  reason- 
ings may  produce.  It  is,  then,  very  evident,  that  the  Scriptures 
employ  the  idea  of  a  flood,  to  represent  the  infestation  of  false 
principles,  with  their  evil  consequences,  and  that  those  who  resist 
them  will  be  enlightened  and  saved,  while  those  who  yield  to  them, 
are  benighted,  and  must  perish. 

It  was  a  flood  of  this  description  in  which  the  antediluvians 
perished.  The  mere  circumstance  of  being  drowned  as  to  the 
body,  is  no  corresponding  consequence  for  the  sins  of  the  soul. 
Many  good  men  have  so  died :  many  wicked  men  have  not  so 
suffered.  There  is  no  connection  between  such  a  natural  catas- 
trophe and  the  spiritual  state  of  the  people.  It  is  the  soul,  and  its 
condition,  of  which  the  Scriptures  treat.  The  principles  which 
give  it  everlasting  life,  and  the  perversities  which  produce  its 
eternal  death,  are  the  things  which  God  has  condescended  to 
reveal,  and  which  men  should  strive  to  know. 


THE  WINDOWS  OF  HEAVEN.  307 

But  these  conclusions  will  have  their  certainty  brought  out  with 
greater  clearness,  if  we  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  what  are 
described  to  have  been  the  sources  of  this  catastrophe.  These 
sources  are  two :  The  breaking  up  of  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep,  and  the  opening  of  the  windows  of  heaven.  (Gen.  vii.  11.) 
Surely,  every  one,  whose  mind  is  not  entirely  pre-occupied  with 
the  idea  of  a  physical  occurrence  being  intended,  must  see  that 
these  sentences  were  not  constructed  with  a  view  to  express  it. 

The  style  is  highly  figurative,  and  resembles,  very  closely,  that 
which  is  employed  by  the  prophets,  of  which  one  instance  will 
suffice :  "  He  who  fleeth  from  the  noise  of  the  fear  shall  fall  into 
the  pit ;  and  he  that  cometh  out  of  the  midst  of  the  pit  shall  be 
taken  in  the  snare  :  for  the  windows  from  on  high  are  open,  and  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  do  shake."  (Isaiah  xxiv.  18.)  Neither 
the  Mosaic  statement,  nor  this  of  the  prophet,  refers  to  any  natural 
phenomena.  "  Fountains  of  the  great  deep  ! "  What  is  there,  in 
mundane  things,  answering  to  these  expressions  ?  Conjectures 
on  this  subject  were  abundant  a  century  or  less  ago,*  but  they 
have  vanished  before  the  progress  of  philosophy,  and  now,  nothing 
that  can,  with  any  reasonableness,  be  said  to  answer  the  descrip- 
tion, is  known  to  science.  And  "  windows  of  heaven ! "  What  are 
they  ?  f  Surely  the  phrase  ought  not  to  be  understood  to  mean 
the  clouds  of  the  earth,  from  whence  it  is  known  the  showers 
descend :  to  open  these,  when  they  prevail,  is  to  disperse  them, 
and  so  let  in  the  sunshine,  and  not  pour  down  their  rain.  More- 
over, the  clouds  are  watery  vapors  originally  derived  from  the 
earth,  and  the  densest  of  them  will  not  contain  more  water  than 
would  cover,  very  slightly,  the  locality  in  which  it  may  be  dis- 
charged.    If  the  whole  atmosphere  surrounding  the  earth,  were 

*  It  was  long  thought  to  be  a  vast  abyss  of  water  in  the  centre  of  the 
earth.  Many  speculations  upon  the  matter  may  be  seen  in  King's  Mor- 
sels of  Criticism,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  355,  417.  Englefield,  with  a  view  to  find  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  water  to  cover  the  whole  earth  fifteen  cubits,,  sup- 
posed the  globe  of  earth  to  consist  of  a  crust  of  solid  matter  one  thou- 
sand miles  thick,  inclosing  a  sea  or  body  of  water,  two  thousand  miles 
deep  ;  within  which  was  a  central  nucleus  of  two  thousand  miles  in  di- 
ameter ;  and  then  concluded  that  he  had  found  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  times  more  water  than  would  have  been  required  for  the  sub- 
mergence of  the  earth.  We  have  nothing  to  say  about  these  calculations  : 
it  is  requisite,  in  the  first  place,  to  inquire  for  the  facts.  The  conclusion 
is  arrived  at  on  supposititious  grounds  only,  for  which  there  are  no  phi- 
losophical data.  Dr.  P.  Smith  considers  the  phrase  to  mean  merely  the 
general  collection  of  oceanic  waters. 

t  This  is  thought  to  be  a  Hebrew  phrase  for  the  skv.    It  -- 


308  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

saturated  with  water  to  its  fullest  capacity,  and  then  precipitated, 
the  result,  according  to  Mr.  Rhind,  would  not  deluge  the  earth 
more  than  seven  inches.  (Rhind's  Age  of  the  Earth,  p.  100.) 
Rain  can  only  contribute  to  the  production  of  a  flood,  in  a  com- 
paratively small  district.  Numerous  destructive  instances  of  this 
kind  are  well  known ;  they  were  occasioned  by  continued  evapo- 
ration from  the  ocean,  with  successive  and  long-sustained  dis- 
charges of  rain.  But  this  could  not  be  universal.  The  laws  of 
evaporation,  and  the  capacity  of  the  atmosphere  for  holding  water 
in  solution,  render  it  impossible,  but  by  a  miracle ;  and  that  we 
have  no  right  to  invent,  in  the  absence  of  all  proper  authority  for 
so  doing.  But,  as  the  earth  supplies  the  clouds  with  all  the  rain 
that  ever  descends  from  them,  they,  as  the  windows  of  heaven^ 
cannot  be  considered  as  any  source  separate  from  the  fountains 
of  the  great  deep,  supposing  them  to  mean  the  oceanic  waters : 
nevertheless,  the  different  sentences  must  be  intended  to  express 
some  distinction.  If  the  phrase,  windows  of  heaven,  is  regarded 
merely  as  an  orientalism,  denoting  the  clouds  and  their  rain  ;  and 
if  it  is  remembered,  that  those  clouds  can  have  no  water  to  pre- 
cipitate but  what  is  first  raised,  by  evaporation,  from  the  earth, 
then  we  are  compelled  to  say,  the  flood  was  produced  by  the 
breaking  up  of  tlie  fountains  of  the  great  deep  only ;  because  the 
deep  was  the  only  source  whence  the  water  was  supplied,  the  rain 
being  merely  a  means  for  its  distribution :  but  this  we  hold  not  to 
be  in  agreement  with  the  design  of  the  narrative,  which  plainly 
presents  tivo  distinct  sources  of  the  catastrophe,  and  thus  shows  us, 
tliat  natural  things  are  not  intended  to  be  described. 

When  it  is  remembered,  that  the  flood  is  significant  of  tempta- 
tions in  general ;  and  it  is  known  that  they  arise  from  two  specific 

to  observe  the  frequency  with  which  modern  critics  endeavor  to  remove 
the  difficulties  of  expression,  with  which  the  Scriptures  are  considered  to 
abound,  by  referring  them  to  oriental  genius.  It  is  found  to  be  exceed- 
ingly convenient  so  to  do  ;  but  it  does  not  explain  the  matter.  We  have 
still  to  ask.  Why  was  that  mode  of  expression  so  peculiar  to  eastern 
genius  ?  and,  Whence  did  it  arise  ?  That  there  is  much  propriety  and 
good  judgment  in  ascribing  many  expressions  to  that  source,  may  be 
readily  admitted ;  nevertheless,  their  figurative  character  remains  ;  nor 
is  the  circumstance  of  their  having  been  originally  employed,  representa- 
tively, to  denote  spiritual  thijigs,  at  all  disturbed  by  it.  Therefore,  in 
referring  peculiarities  of  expression  to  be  found  in  the  Scriptures,  to  the 
genius  of  the  people,  or  to  the  idiomatic  character  of  the  language  spoken 
by  them,  and  from  which  such  expressions  are  derived  ;  and  considering 
them  to  mean  certain  natural  things,  poetically  expressed,  their  spiritual, 
which  is  their  chief  design,  must  not  be  overlooked. 


FOUNTAINS    OF    THE    DEEP.  309 

causes,  which  are  evil  in  the  will,  and  falsehood  in  the  understand- 
ing ;  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  find  the  proper  relatives  for  those 
two  phrases,  namely,  —  fountains  of  the  great  deep  being  broken 
up,  and  windows  of  heaven  being  opened ;  for  by  the  former,  it 
will  be  seen,  is  denoted  extreme  temptation  arising  from  evil  influ- 
ences upon  the  will ;  and  by  the  latter  is  signified,  severe  tempta- 
tion operating  by  falsehood  upon  the  understanding. 

The  will  of  man  is  compared  to  the  deep,  because  it  is  so  in 
reference  to  the  things  of  love.  In  our  own  language,  it  is  em- 
ployed as  a  figure  with  that  signification.  They  in  whom  intense 
affection  is  excited  are  said  to  deeply  love.  It  matters  little  wheth- 
er the  object  of  it  be  good  or  not,  it  is  the  depth  of  the  love,  and 
not  the  character  of  the  object,  which  is  spoken  of.  A  like  mode 
of  expression  is  frequently  employed  in  the  Scriptures :  great  sin 
is  called  deep  corruption,  (Hos.  ix.  9 ;)  and  the  rebellion  of  Israel 
is  said  to  have  been  a  deep  revolt.  (Isaiah  xxxi.  6.)  The  will,  as 
the  seat  and  receptacle  of  affection,  is  influenced  by  a  variety  of 
conflicting  sentiments  and  feelings,  which  keep  it  in  continual  agi- 
tation, and,  in  this  respect,  it  is  also  as  the  deep,  considered  as  an 
ocean :  sometimes,  those  feelings  are  more  tranquil  and  subdued, 
and  at  others,  they  are  more  tumultuous  and  fearful ;  and  in  this, 
likewise,  it  presents  an  analogy  to  the  deep.  It  is  in  consequence 
of  this  signification,  that  the  prophet,  speaking  of  the  Assyrian, 
says,  "  The  waters  made  him  great,  the  deep  set  him  up  on  high ; " 
(Ezek.  xxxi.  4  ;)  because,  by  the  Assyrian,  is  denoted  the  rational 
principle ;  the  waters  are  declared  to  make  him  great,  because 
truths  regenerate  and  make  it  good,  and  the  deep  is  declared  to  set 
him  up  on  high,  to  signify  the  elevation  which  is  attained  by  the 
activity  of  the  will.  The  deep,  before  us,  is  called  great,  to  denote 
that  it  had  been  good,  for  greatness  is  goodness  in  a  spiritual  sense : 
and  the  fountains  thereof,  refer  to,  and  signify,  all  those  affections 
by  which  that  characteristic  had  been  procured.  Every  one  sees, 
that  affection  is  a  spiritual  fountain,  through  which  arise  innumer- 
able joys.  But  we  are  informed,  that  all  these  were  broken  up ; 
the  will,  as  a  will  for  good,  was  now  disrupted,  and  had  become  a 
lust ;  and  the  affections,  as  the  fountain  through  which  had  arisen 
orderly  delight  and  blessedness,  were  now  entirely  destroyed.  And 
therefore,  it  is  evident,  that  the  breaking  up  of  the  fountains  of 
the  great  deep,  denote  extreme  temptations,  arising  from  evil  influ- 
ences upon  the  will. 

But  while  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  signify  the  affections 
of  the  will,  the  windows  of  heaven  denote  the  perceptions  of  the 


310  ANTEDILUVIAN  HISTORY. 

understanding.  It  is  by  those  perceptions  that  we  are  enabled  to 
behold  any  thing  of  spiritual  truth,  and  the  understanding,  when 
enlightened  thereby,  is  as  heaven,  by  virtue  of  the  wisdom  that  is 
present.  They  are  the  windows  through  which  the  mind  derives 
all  its  illustrations ;  and  they  are  the  windows  of  heaven,  when 
they  are  turned  to  heavenly  things,  and  admit  the  light  of  heavenly 
truth  to  illustrate  the  understanding.  This  had  been  the  case  with 
them  in  previous  and  better  times,  but  it  was  not  so  at  the  period 
which  is  before  us.  The  will,  having  become  a  lust,  would  needs 
corrupt  the  understanding  also.  It  is  a  law,  that  where  the  deeds 
are  evil,  darkness  will  be  preferred  to  light.  (John  iii.  39.)  Those 
windows  are  said  to  have  been  opened,  yet  not  for  a  good,  but  a 
destructive  purpose.  This  opening  implies,  an  unguarded  expo- 
sure, and  so,  a  carelessness  as  to  what  may  enter,  in  which  case 
falsehood  is  sure  to  find  its  way.  Though  they  were  open,  it  was 
not  to  receive  heavenly  light,  but  to  admit  some  destructive  influ- 
ence :  this  is  plain  from  the  whole  tenor  of  the  narrative.  The 
nature  of  that  influence  must  have  been  false  reasonings  and  per- 
suasions, and  these  produced  extreme  temptations  and  delusions 
in  the  understanding. 

It  was  when  the  things  of  the  will  and  understanding  were  so 
entirely  disarranged  and  perverted,  that  the  rain  is  said  to  have 
been  upon  the  earth  forty  days  ;  because,  by  the  rain,  is  here  not 
meant  rain,  but  the  influx  of  evil  and  false  principles  into  these 
two  faculties  of  the  human  mind.  This  must  be  evident  to  all 
who  can  see  the  flood  to  have  been  an  inundation  of  wicked  per- 
suasions and  delights,  which  the  Psalmist  calls  the  floods  of  un- 
godly men  which  made  him  afraid. 

Rain,  when  mentioned  in  a  good  sense  in  the  Scriptures,  de- 
notes, the  influence  of  holy  enjoyments  from  the  Lord :  hence  they 
are  called  "  showers  of  blessing;"  (Ezek.  xxxiv.  26  ;)  and  among 
many  features  of  His  divine  care  for  the  church,  is  that  of  "  mak- 
ing it  soft  with  showers ; "  (Psalm  Ixv.  10  ;)  and  he  himself  is  said 
to  "  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass."  (Psalm  Ixxii.  6.) 
These  blessings  are  compared  to  rain,  because  there  is  an  analogy 
between  the  natural  efiects  of  gentle  and  seasonable  showers,  and 
the  spiritual  results  of  orderly  and  refreshing  influx.  In  a  literal 
sense,  it  irrigates  the  soil,  increases  its  fertility,  and  renders  it 
capable  of  producing  the  food  which  is  requisite  for  our  physical 
sustenance ;  in  a  spiritual  sense,  it  softens  the  asperity  of  man, 
improves  his  docility,  and  enlarges  his  power  of  bringing  fortli  the 
meat  necessary  for  promoting  life  eternal. 


RAIN    SIGNIFICANT   OF    INFLUX.  311 

But  when  rain  is  spoken  of  in  an  opposite  sense,  and  from  which 
disastrous  consequences  ensue,  as  in  the  case  of  the  subject  before 
us,  then  it  denotes  the  influx  of  impurity  from  the  infernal  world. 
The  context  will  always  determine  which  is  the  character  of  the 
influx  treated  of.  While  some  rains  are  gentle  and  eminently 
useful,  others  are  violent  and  lamentably  destructive  ;  and  the 
latter  are  frequently  employed  in  the  Scriptures  as  the  emblems 
of  spiritual  desolation.  As  for  instance,  it  is  written,  "  The  taber- 
nacle shall  be  for  a  covert  from  storm  and  from  rain ; "  (Isaiah  iv.  6 ;) 
where  the  tabernacle  is  mentioned  for  the  church ;  and  this,  con- 
sidered in  reference  to  its  wisdom  and  virtue,  was  to  be  a  protec- 
tion from  the  storm,  because  by  that,  in  respect  to  wind,  is  denoted 
a  tumultuous  influx  of  false  persuasions :  it  was,  also,  to  be  a 
shelter  from  the  rain,  because  by  that  is  represented  a  destructive 
influx  of  evil  connected  therewith.  Ezekiel,  speaking  of  those 
who  daub  the  wall  with  untempered  mortar,  —  by  which  is  to  be 
understood,  all  such  as  confirm  themselves  in  false  ideas  of  reli- 
gion, by  the  fallacies  of  appearances,  —  represents  the  Lord  as 
saying,  "There  shall  be  an  overflowing  shower  in  mine  anger, 
and  great  hail-stones  in  my  fury  to  consume  it ; "  (Ezek.  xiii.  13 ;) 
where,  by  an  overwhelming  shower,  is  denoted  a  destructive  influ- 
ence. So  also,  in  his  prophecy  against  Gog,  it  is  declared,  "  I  will 
rain  upon  him,  and  upon  his  bands,  and  upon  the  many  people  that 
are  with  him,  an  overflowing  rain ; "  (Ezek.  xxxviii.  22 ;)  where, 
again,  by  an  overflowing  rain,  is  plainly  meant,  an  inundation  of 
pernicious  influences,  by  which  they  would  be  destroyed.  The 
Lord  said,  "Every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine  and 
doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  to  a  foolish  man,  which  built  his 
house  upon  the  sand ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came, 
and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell :  and 
great  was  the  fall  of  it."  (Matt.  vii.  26,  27.)  Here,  the  building 
of  the  house  is  another  form,  under  which  the  development  of  the 
church  with  man,  is  represented.  When  this  is  grounded  on  gen- 
uine truth,  represented  by  the  permanent  rock,  it  is  capable  of 
resisting  and  outliving  any  storm  of  temptation  by  which  it  may 
be  assailed;  but  when  it  has  its  foundation  in  shifting  false- 
hood, denoted  by  the  unsteady  sand,  then,  when  storms  of  temp- 
tations arise,  it  is  eminently  unsafe,  and  it  will  be  sure  to  perish, 
when  the  rains  thereof  descend,  the  floods  come,  and  the  winds 
blow. 

Other  passages  could  easily  be  produced,  to  show  that  rain, 
when  spoken  of  in  a  destructive  sense,  is  significant  of  those 


312  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

dangerous  influences,  which  overwhelm  those  in  whom  the  will 
for  good  has  been  disrupted,  and  the  understanding  of  truth  un- 
cared  for :  but  these  are  sufficient.  They  will  convince  the  re- 
flecting, that  temptations,  and  their  desolating  consequences  on  the 
souls  of  men,  and  so  the  complete  destruction  of  the  most  ancient 
church,  are  the  subjects  treated  of  under  the  figure  of  the  deluge. 
This,  indeed,  is  still  further  evinced,  by  the  circumstance  of  its  be- 
ing said,  that  "  rain  was  upon  the  earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights ; " 
for  that  number,  in  the  Scriptures,  is  continually  associated  with 
subjects  in  which  temptations  are  conspicuous  features.  Of  Scrip- 
ture numbers,  considered  in  the  abstract,  we  have  already  spoken ; 
(see  page  224 ;)  and  many  instances  might  be  adduced,  in  which  it 
is  evident,  that  natural  computations  are  referred  to,  merely  for 
the  sake  of  their  spiritual  sense.  The  "  Molten  Sea,"  is  said  to 
have  been  "  ten  cubits  from  one  brim  to  the  other,  and  a  line  of 
thirty  cubits  did  compass  it  round  about ; "  (1  Kings  vii.  23 ;)  but 
the  number  of  the  circumference  does  not  geometrically  answer 
to  that  of  the  diameter.  So,  also,  it  is  written,  that  '*  the  sojourn- 
ing of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  dwelt  in  Egypt,  was  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years  ; "  (Exod.  xii.  40 ;)  but  this  period  does  not 
agree  with  the  Scripture  chronology,  and  it  is  mentioned,  only 
because  it  was  requisite  to  the  correct  expression  of  the  spiritual 
sense ;  *  and  the  forty  days  and  nights  continuance  of  the  rain,  is 
intended  to  denote,  the  severity  of  the  temptation,  rather  than  the 
time  of  its  duration.  That  the  Scriptures  employ  the  number 
forty,  in  connection  with  the  subjects  of  temptation,  is  remarkably 
evident.  Of  the  children  of  Israel,  it  is  said,  that  they  should 
"wander  in  the  wilderness /or<^  years,  untU  the  carcasses  of  their 
fathers  were  wasted.  After  the  number  of  the  days  in  which  ye 
searched  the  land,  even  forty  days  (each  day  for  a  year)  shall  ye 
bear  your  iniquities,  even  forty  years."  (Numb.  xiv.  33,  34.)  And 
the  Lord  is  said  to  have  been  grieved  forty  years  with  that  gene- 
ration.    (Psalm  xcv.  10.)     It  is  written  of  Egypt,  that  it  should  be 

*  This  is  shown  by  the  Rev,  R.  Hindmarsh,  as  follows :  '•  Moses  sprang 
from  Amran,  Amran  from  Kohath,  and  Kohath  from  Levi,  and  Kohath 
went  with  his  father  Levi  into  Egypt.  Gen.  xlvi.  11.  Now  the  age  of 
Kohath  was  a  hundred  and  thirty-three  years  (Exod.  vi.  18;)  the  age  of 
Amran  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  (verse  20 ;)  and  the  age  of 
Moses,  when  he  stood  before  Pharaoh,  eighty  years,  (Exod.  vii.  7.)  All 
these  years,  added  together,  make  only  three  hundred  and  fifty,  which 
are  considerably  short  of  four  hundred  and  thirty,  and  therefore,  it  is 
impossible  the  children  of  Israel,  could  have  been  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years  in  Egypt."    Letters  to  Dr.  Priestley.    Sec.  edit.  p.  160. 


TWO-FOLD    EFFECTS    OF    TEMPTATION    ILLUSTRATED.     313 

"  utterly  waste  and  desolate  from  the  toAver  of  Syene  even  unto 
tlie  border  of  Ethiopia.  No  foot  of  man  shall  pass  through  it,  nor 
foot  of  beast  shall  pass  through  it,  neither  shall  it  be  inhabited 
forty  years."  (Ezek.  xxix.  10,  11.)  Jonah  cried,  and  said  unto 
the  Ninevites,  "  Yet  forty  days  and  the  city  shall  be  overthrown." 
(Jonah  iii.  4.)  The  prophet  was  directed  to  lie  upon  his  right  side, 
and  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  house  of  Judah  forty  days.  (Ezek. 
iv.  6.)  Moses  "  abode  in  the  mount  forty  days  and  forty  nights ; 
neither  did  he  eat  bread  nor  drink  water,"  praying  for  the  people 
lest  they  should  be  destroyed. '  (Deut.  ix.  9.)  And  it  is  said,  that 
the  people  "were  led  forty  years  in  the  wilderness  to  humble 
them,  and  to  prove  them."  (Deut.  viii.  2.)  In  all  these  instances, 
we  find  that  the  number  forty  is  associated  with  some  afflictive 
circumstance ;  and  when  it  is  further  remembered,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  "  was  in  the  wilderness  forty  days  tempted  of  Satan ; 
and  was  with  the  wild  beasts,"  (Mark  i.  13 ;)  men  can  no  longer 
have  any  scepticism  about  the  number  forty  denoting  the  severity 
of  temptation :  and  consequently,  that  the  rain  for  forty  days  and 
forty  nights,  in  the  cases  of  the  deluge,  represented  the  painful 
sufferings  of  temptation  in  every  state,  whether  of  light  or  dark- 
ness. This  was  the  circumstance,  in  which  we  conceive  the 
wicked  antediluvians  to  have  perished:  they  yielded  to  its  ur- 
gency, and  so  were  finally  overwhelmed :  but,  the  people  called 
Noah  were  saved,  because  they  resisted  and  overcame  it. 

These  different  effects  of  temptation,  which  may  be  easily  con- 
ceived, are  represented  to  us  by  other  circumstances,  recorded  in 
the  Scriptures.  Those  which  attended  the  journeyings  of  the 
children  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  towards  the  land  of  Canaan, 
afford  a  remarkable  example.  Their  looking  back  to  Egypt,  and 
murmuring  for  its  flesh  pots ;  their  idolatry  and  backslidings  ;  their 
vicissitudes  and  disasters ;  their  plagues  and  desolations,  are  all 
plain  evidences  of  their  having  sustained  temptation.  But  the 
history  of  those  events,  viewed  in  its  complex,  is  intended  to  show 
forth,  the  two  diflferent  and  general  effects  of  temptation  upon  dis- 
tinct classes  of  mind  and  character,  namely,  the  exaltation  of  some, 
and  the  destruction  of  others.  The  salutary  eflfects  of  temptation, 
are  exhibited  to  us  in  those,  who,  having  endured  and  overcome 
the  hardships  of  the  desert,  were  finally  introduced  into  the  prom- 
ised land :  but  their  destructive  consequences  are  disclosed,  in  the 
distresses  which  befel  those  who  perished  in  the  wilderness.  All 
who  were  above  twenty  years  old  on  their  departure  out  of  Egypt, 
died,  with  the  except!  on  of  Caleb  and  Joshua.  Those  who  entered 
27 


314  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY, 

into  Canaan  were  either  a  new  or  more  obedient  race.  The  ex- 
tinction of  the  former,  represented  the  destructive  effects  of  temp- 
tation, on  those  who  yield  to  them :  the  preservation  of  the  latter, 
and  their  introduction  into  the  land  of  promise,  exhibit  the  exalting 
results  of  temptation,  on  those  who  resist  and  overcome  them. 
They  produce  death  on  those  who  follow  their  own  heart's  lusts, 
and  they  induce  a  superior  degree  of  spiritual  life,  in  all  who  en- 
dure and  conquer  them.  One  class  perished  in  the  disasters  of 
the  wilderness,  another  class  were  rescued  from  them,  and  entered 
into  Canaan.  There  are,  then,  several  parallelisms  between  the 
circumstances  which  attended  the  formation  of  the  Israelitish 
church  in  Canaan,  and  the  establishment  of  the  ancient  church 
with  Noah.  The  difference  is  more  in^  outward  form,  than  in  es- 
sential things.  Thus,  the  land  of  Canaan  was,  to  the  Israelites, 
who  were  saved  from  the  dangers  of  the  wilderness,  what  the  ark 
was  to  Noah,  who  was  preserved  from  the  inundation  of  the  flood. 
The  death  of  those  who  died  in  the  desert,  was,  to  the  formation 
of  the  church  in  Canaan,  what  the  destruction  of  the  antediluvians 
was  to  the  establishment  of  the  church  with  Noah.  Caleb  and 
Joshua,  being  the  only  surviving  adults  who  were  delivered  from 
the  bondage  of  the  Egyptians,  and  the  trials  of  the  wilderness, 
were,  to  the  planting  of  the  Israelitish  church  in  Canaan,  what 
Noah  and  his  house,  as  the  only  parties  who  escaped  from  the 
rains  and  the  flood  of  the  ancient  world,  were  to  the  covenant 
then  established.  And  these  parallelisms  arise,  as  we  have  said, 
from  the  similarity  of  essential  ideas  intended  to  be  included  in 
both  narrations,  though  the  outward  structure  of  the  one  be  a  real, 
and  that  of  the  other,  only  a  figurative  history. 

Concerning  the  deluge,  as  a  temptation  from  which  the  Noetic 
people  were  delivered,  Peter  says,  "  The  long-suffering  of  God 
waited  in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  preparing,  wherein 
few,  that  is,  eight  souls  were  saved  by  water.  The  like  figure* 
whereunto  even  baptism  doth  now  save  us."     Here  the  apostle 

*  1  Peter  iii.  20, 21.  The  original  word  here  used,  is  avriTvnop,  antitype. 
The  theological  meaning  of  the  terms  type  and  antitype,  is,  that  the  type 
is  an  impression,  image,  or  representation  of  some  model,  which  is  termed 
the  antitype.  But  there  is  some  reason  to  ask,  whether  this  is  not  an  in- 
version of  the  true  Scriptural  sense  ?  If  the  water  by  which  Noah  was 
saved,  was  the  antitype  of  that  by  which  baptism  saves  us,  then,  the 
waters  of  baptism  were  the  type.  Thus,  that  which  succeeds  an  impres- 
sion and  proceeds  from  a  model,  is  really  the  type.  In  John  xx.  25, 
it  is  said,  Tbv  rbnov  riov  jJXwf,  —  which  literally  means,  the  type  of  the 
nails. 


GOD    NOT    A    DESTROYER.  315 

calls  the  circumstance  of  being  saved  by  water  a  figure  of  bap- 
tism, because,  by  the  waters  of  baptism  are  signified,  purification 
effected  by  means  of  temptations  sustained  and  conquered.  Call- 
ing the  deluge  a  figure,  affords  no  evidence  as  to  the  real  character 
of  the  event.  Things  purely  spiritual  can  be  types,  equally  with 
things  natural.  Moses  was  shown  the  pattern  of  the  tabernacle  in 
a  vision  on  the  mount.  (Exodus  xxv.  40 ;  Heb.  viii.  5.)  The  apos- 
tle, then,  in  affirming  that  the  waters  of  Noah  were  a  figure  of  the 
waters  of  baptism ;  and  as  the  waters  of  baptism  are  a  symbol  of 
purification,  acquired  by  overcoming  temptation ;  it  follows,  upon 
his  evidence  also,  that  such  was  the  signification  of  the  deluge  from 
which  Noah  was  saved.  Those  who  perished  in  it,  were  those 
who  yielded  to  the  abominations  to  which  they  were  incited.  The 
"death  which  they  suffered,  as  being  that  which  is  primarily  treated 
of,  was  of  a  spiritual  kind,  being  induced  by  the  love  and  life  of 
evil.  This  is  the  death  of  which  the  Scriptures  speak  as  the  event 
to  be  avoided :  "  Be  not  afraid  of  them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after 
that  have  no  more  that  they  can  do ;  but  I  will  forewarn  you,  whom 
ye  shall  fear :  fear  him,  which,  after  he  hath  killed,  hath  power  to 
cast  into  hell :  yea,  1  say  unto  you,  fear  him."  (LukO'  xii.  4,  5.) 
He  who  killeth  and  casteth  into  hell,  is  the  devil,  that  is,  evil ;  for 
this,  in  its  complex,  is  so  personified :  to  fear  him,  is  to  oppose  evil 
influences,  wherefore,  it  is  written,  "  Resist  the  devil  and  he  will 
flee  away  from  you."  (James  iv.  7.)  The  antediluvians  did  not  so 
fear  and  resist :  their  wickedness  was  great  in  the  earth,  and  every 
thought  of  the  imagination  of  their  heart  was  evil  continually,  and 
hence,  they  perished. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  it  was  every  living  substance  which  the 
Lord  had  made,  that  was  about  to  be  destroyed.  This  it  is  impor- 
tant to  remark.  It  is,  indeed,  said,  that  the  Lord  would  do  it,  be- 
cause it  appears  to  the  wicked,  when,  by  ignorance  and  misdoing, 
they  bring  calamity  upon  themselves,  that  the  Lord  is  its  author : 
on  this  mode  of  speaking  of  the  divine  character,  we  have  already 
treated.  All  that  the  Lord  made,  was  pronounced  to  have  been 
very  good :  there  is  no  intimation  of  the  animal  or  vegetable  world 
having  departed  from  their  original  excellence  ;  nor  is  there  any 
reasonable  ground  to  "suppose,  that  any  of  those  who  may  have 
survived  the  flood,  would  have  regarded  the  extermination  of  their 
predecessors  as  a  calamity.  It  was  man  alone  who  had  strayed 
from  the  ways  of  purity  and  knowledge,  and  he  alone  could  con- 
template death  as  a  terrible  catastrophe.  The  destruction  of  the 
insentient  and  irresponsible  objects  of  nature,  cannot  be  reasonably 


316  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

attributed  to  God,  from  whose  wisdom  and  goodness  they  have  pro- 
ceeded. As  the  creator  of  all  that  is  good,  he  cannot,  also,  be  the 
destroyer !  His  continual  efforts  are,  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
to  preserve  and  bless,  to  remove  the  evil  and  increase  the  good. 
He  therefore,  cannot  destroy  what  he  has  really  made  ;  such  an  act 
would  imply  a  condemnation  of  his  own  wisdom.  It  is  evil  which 
the  Lord  is  solicitous  to  remove,  so  far  as  it  cap  be  done  consist- 
ently with  man's  freedom  and  responsibility.  This  evil  he  did  not 
make,  although  there  have  been  men  who  have  so  believed  and 
taught.*  Wicked  persons,  so  far  as  they  confess  a  God,  believe 
Him  to  be  the  author  of  the  calamities  they  bring  upon  themselves. 
Such  a  false  position,  is  a  consequence  of  the  inverted  state  of  their 
mental,  character.  Job's  wife,  so  regarded  the  affliction  of  her 
husband,  and  bade  him  "  curse  God,  and  die,"  but  she  talked  as 
one  of  the  foolish  women.  (Job  ii.  9.)  Nevertheless,  the  prov- 
idences by  which  the  Lord  hinders  the  manifestation  of  particular 
evils,  and  so  causeth  their  cessation  and  removal,  are,  by  such  per- 
sons, considered  as  the  destruction  by  God,  of  what  he  himself  has 
made.  The  passage  then,  which  represents  the  Lord,  as  saying, 
"  Every  living  substance  that  I  have  made,  will  I  destroy,"  refers 
to  the  dissipation  of  those  evil  principles,  which  had  gained  a  fierce 
ascendancy  over  society,  and  so  far  as  it  could  not  be  effected  with- 
out it,  the  permission  of  means  by  which  society  itself  was  to  be 
dissolved.  It  was  not  the  things  of  orderly  nature,  but  the  prin- 
ciples which  had  disordered  humanity,  which  had  to  be  destroyed. 
These  had  become  living  substances  with  men ;  and  men,  in  the 
midst  of  their  wickedness,  regarded  them  as  God's  creation :  and 
this  is  the  reason  why  He  is  predicated  to  have  made  them.  They 
were  opposed  to  his  merciful  design  in  our  creation,  and  therefore, 
the  permission  of  means,  for  the  removal  of  obstacles  which  stood 
in  the  way  of  manifesting  his  good  providence,  is  perfectly  con- 
sistent with  that  clemency  and  wisdom,  which  regard  eternal  ends 
in  all  they  do. 

But  what  were  the  means  so  permitted  ?  They  were  the  waters 
of  temptation.  Evil,  having  become  an  infixed  principle  in  man, 
attracted  corresponding  influences  from  the  infernal  world.    These 

*  "If  God  foresaw  that  Judas  would  be  a  traitor,  Judas  necessarily 
became  a  traitor,  nor  was  it  in  his  power  to  be  otherwise."  —  Martin  Lu- 
ther. See  De  Servo  Arbitrio,fol.  460.  "  God  not  only  foresaw  that  Adam 
would  fall,. but  ordained  that  he  should."  —  Calvin.  Inst.  B.  3,  Chap.  23, 
bee.  7.  "  God  is  the  author  of  every  action  which  is  sinful,  by  his  irresis- 
tible will."  —  Dr.  Twiss,  Part  iii.  p.  21.  What  shocking  and  detestable 
sentiments ! 


THE    HIGH    HILLS    COVERED.  817 

influences  destroy  all  those  who  give  themselves  up  to  their  im- 
pulses and  suggestions ;  but  when  they  are  resisted,  and  conquered, 
good  enters  into  man,  and  he  becomes  exalted.  For,  by  tempta- 
tion, man  is  brought  acquainted  with  his  evils,  since  he  cannot  be 
tempted  to  any  thing,  unless  he  is,  in  some  measure,  previously 
inclined  to  it :  thus,  temptations  act  as  a  sort  of  revelation  to  man, 
as  before  observed,  informing  him  of  the  evils  which  he  loves.  If 
he  does  not  resist  them,  then,  of  course,  they  triumph,  and  he  falls ; 
this  was  the  case  with  the  antediluvians  who  perished :  but  if  he 
repulses  them,  and  conquers,  then  his  evils  are  so  dispersed,  that 
goodness  and  truth  from  the  Lord  can  flow  into  his  affection  and 
thought,  and  so  produce  salvation.  This  was  the  case  with  Noah, 
and  it  became  the  ground  on  which  the  Lord  could  establish  a 
covenant  with  him.  When  "  the  waters  increased,''^  "  the  ark  went 
up  ; "  that  is,  when  temptations  were  urgent,  the  men  of  the  church 
acquired,  by  their  resistance,  a  spiritual  elevation  ;  but  when  "  the 
waters  prevailed,"  "  the  high  hills  were  covered ; "  by  which,  we 
are  informed  of  the  destructive  influence  of  temptation,  with  those 
who  did  not  oppose  them,  and  thereby,  the  inundation  of  every 
good.  The  inundation  of  every  good  from  the  Lord,  is  represented 
by  "  the  covering  of  all  the  high  hills,  that  were  under  the  whole 
heaven."  Hills  denote  elevated  principles  :  hence,  we  read  of  the 
hill  of  the  Lord,  and  the  mountain  of  his  holiness  :  (Psalm  xxiv.  3 ; 
xlviii.  1 ;  Isaiah  ii.  3 :)  and  that  to  cover  them,  signifies  to  over- 
whelm them,  is  evident,  without  further  explication.  How  fearful 
was  this  state  of  temptation !  Yea,  how  awfully  destructive  was 
its  character !  For,  in  obtaining  an  ascendancy  over  the  moral 
sentiments,  and  spiritual  hopes  of  men,  we  are  informed,  that  "  All 
flesh  died  that  moved  upon  the  earth,  both  of  fowls,  and  of  cattle, 
and  of  beasts,  and  of  every  creeping  thing,  that  creepeth  upon  the 
earth,  and  every  man."  (Gen.  vii.  21.)  This  serial  statement  of 
the  death  of  all  animated  nature,  is  intended  to  express  the  ex- 
tinction of  all  those  spiritual  principles  of  evil  and  falsehood,  which 
had  become  living  things  with  the  antediluvian  people,  and  which 
gave  to  them  a  peculiar  malignity  of  character. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  conceive,  how  the  death  of  all  nat- 
ural creatures  should  have  been  involved  in  the  transgression  of 
man!  What  had  the  irresponsible  beasts  done  that  they  must 
perish  ?  It  does  not  remove  the  difficulty  to  say,  that  God  willed 
it  so :  He  could  not  have  willed  it  without  a  sufficient  reason  ;  for 
all  He  does,  proceeds  from  intelligence,  and  regards  a  moral.  The 
27  # 


318  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

narrative  gives  no  reason ;  and  reason  finds  it  difficult  to  see  what 
moral  could  be  inculcated  by  such  a  course.  Some  may  say,  it 
was  to  display  the  terribleness  of  God's  anger !  We  have  no  sym- 
pathy with  such  a  notion :  He  creates  to  preserve,  by  laws  of  pres- 
ervation and  perpetuation,  and  in  no  case  to  destroy.  The  change 
and  dissolution  to  which  material  things  are  subject,  arise  from  the 
action  of  laws  peculiar  to  their  existence,  and  they  do  not,  prop- 
erly, come  within  the  meaning  of  the  word,  destroy,  as  it  is  here 
employed.  There  is  no  perceptible  connection,  between  the  in- 
fliction of  death  upon  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  the  punishment 
of  man's  iniquity,  unless,  perhaps,  in  cases  where  they  are  vieAved 
as  property,  which  will  hardly  be  pretended  for  the  case  in  question. 
But  why  should  this  infliction  have  been  upon  the  terrestrial  crea- 
tures only  ?  Why  were  the  marine  animals  to  escape  ?  which  they 
must  have  done,  as  the  means  adopted  for  the  supposed  destruction 
of  others  could  not  have  exterminated  them.  If  terrestrial  beasts 
must  die  in  consequence  of  man's  transgression,  why  were  the  fishes 
spared  ?  It  is  said,  that  all  the  fowls  perished ;  but  as  there  is  a 
large  amount  of  aquatic  birds,  which  the  rising  of  the  waters  would 
scarcely  have  affected  with  destruction,  is  it  not  highly  probable 
that  they  escaped  the  danger  ?  Interrogatories  of  this  nature  may 
be  indefinitely  extended,  because  they  are  founded  on  the  idea  of 
the  narrative  describing  a  physical  circumstance,  which,  we  think, 
these  investigations  show  to  be  a  mistaken  view  of  it.  The  fact, 
that  it  is  not  a  literal  history,  but  the  description  of  spiritual  phe- 
nomena, at  once  disarms  science  and  philosophy  of  all  their  diffi- 
culties, and  enables  us  to  contemplate  it  on  spiritual,  which  is  its 
proper,  grounds. 

It  has  been  shown,  on  several  occasions  during  the  progress  of 
this  work,  that  various  orders  of  animated  nature  are  mentioned, 
in  the  Scriptures,  as  types,  or  symbols,  of  certain  moral  senti- 
ments and  intellectual  principles  of  man.  It  was  adverted  to, 
when  speaking  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  days'  creation ;  also  when, 
treating  of  Adam  naming  the  creatures  ;  and  likewise,  in  noticing 
their  introduction  into  the  ark.  We  therefore,  need  not  dwell 
upon  further  illustrations.  The  principle  involved  in  those  expla- 
nations is  applicable  to  the  case  before  us.  It  leads  us  at  once  to 
see,  that  the  animals  which  are  mentioned  to  have  perished  at  the 
deluge,  were  significant  of  certain  principles  of  life,  which  were 
extinguished  through  the  inflowing  of  those  false  persuasions  and 
evil  loves  from  which  the  flood  resulted. 

It  is,  however,  of  importance  to  observe,  in  what  those  principles 


OF   THE   BEASTS   WHICH   PERISHED.  SW 

of  life  consisted.  The  people  had  been,  for  many  generations, 
descending  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mire  and  filth  of  their  cor- 
ruptions, and  the  posterity  now  treated  of,  had  become  the  sink  of 
all  that  was  vile  in  perversity  and  lust  Now,  it  is  the  various 
principles  of  degenerate  life  belonging  to  this  abandoned  con- 
dition, which  are  specifically  referred  to,  by  the  animals  which 
perished  in  the  flood.  All  man's  noble  affections  and  elevated 
sentiments,  had  previously  passed  away,  in  the  degeneracy  which 
had  set  in,  and  those  which  now  remained  were  low  and  sensual 
merely.  The  unhallowed  nature  of  these  perversities  and  loves, 
had  closed  the  interiors  of  that  people  against  the  reception  of  all 
heavenly  influences,  so  that,  in  addition  to  their  own  vicious  incli- 
nations, they  were  acted  upon  by  urgent  impulses  from  the  infernal 
world,  through  the  inundations  of  which,  they  finally  perished 
from  the  earth,  carrying  with  them  all  those  fallen  appetites  and 
persuasions  which  were  peculiar  to  the  race.  And  these,  we  say, 
were  represented  by  the  general  description :  "  All  flesh  died  that 
creepeth  upon  tiie  earth,  as  to  fowl,  and  as  to  beast,  and  as  to  wild 
beast,  and  as  to  every  reptile,  creeping  upon  the  earth ;  and  every 
man."  It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  animals  described  to  have 
perished,  are  called  "creeping  things."  The  fowls,  the  beasts, 
and  wild  beasts,  are  all  included  in  the  general  statement,  that 
*'all  flesh  died  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth."  This  is  said  of 
them,  to  indicate  the  earthly  persuasions  and  delights  of  men ; 
and,  in  order  to  represent  the  dispersion  of  their  peculiar  enormi- 
ties, these  creeping  things  are  said  to  have  died.  That  flesh  is 
mentioned  in  the  Scriptures  to  denote  man  in  general,  is  well 
knowm  ;  and  therefore,  it  is  easy  to  see,  when  he  is  spoken  of,  as 
Jlesh  that  creepeth  upon  ike  earth,  that  his  corporeal  and  earthly 
condition  is  described.  The  fowls  of  this  state,  represented  his 
perverted  reasonings  and  false  persuasions ;  the  beasts  were  sig- 
nificant of  lusts  of  various  sorts,  toUd  beasts,  denoted  the  inordinate 
delights  of  the  sensual  man,  and  reptiles,  meant  all  those  pursuits 
which  are  grovelling,  earthly,  and  disgusting.  The  interior  prin- 
ciples of  those  people,  had  become  altogether  vile ;  the  life  of 
their  understandings  was  a  mere  animus  of  false  persuasions  ;  the 
life  of  their  wills  had  degenerated  into  abandoned  lusts,  and  they 
perished  in  following  the  wickedness  to  which  they  were  impelled. 
To  show  that  the  peculiar  kinds  of  false  and  evil  principles 
which'  had  been  developed  in  society,  were  to  be  extirpated,  it  is 
said  that  all  flesh  died  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth,  as  to  fowl, 
and  as  to  beasts,  and  as  to  wild  beasts,  and  as  to  every  reptile 


"320  ANTEDILUVIAN    HISTORY. 

creeping  upon  the  earth,  and  which,  in  one  complex,  are  callecJ 
"  every  man ; "  man,  here  denoting,  the  profane  character  which 
he  had  become. 

Such,  we  conceive  to  have  been  the  horrible  nature  of  the  flood, 
that  is,  of  the  inundation  of  false  principles  and  evil  loves  into  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  men,  which  not  only  overwhelmed  the  spirit- 
ual lives  of  all  those  who  had  not  prepared  to  resist  their  sugges- 
tions and  impulses,  but  which,  also,  promoted  a  disastrous  termi- 
nation of  their  natural  existence.* 

It  may  not  be  so  easy  for  some  to  see  how  tiiose  evil  influences, 

*  At  page  127,  it  was  stated,  that  man's  fall  was  not  completed  until 
the  Lord's  coming  in  the  flesh :  and  some  general  reasons  for  this  idea 
are  given  in  a  note,  to  meet  an  objection,  which,  it  was  supposed,  might 
arise  from  that  circumstance  having  taken  place,  in  what  has  been,  by 
way  of  eminence,  called  the  "  Augustine  age,"  &c.  It  was,  however, 
omitted  to  be  noticed,  that  the  atrocities  which  brought  the  antediluvian 
church  to  its  end,  may,  by  some,  be  considered  to  have  been  equally 
great,  if  not  more  so,  than  those  Avhich  prevailed  at  the  Lord's  advent ; 
and  from  this,  it  may  be  argued,  that  the  fall  must  have  been  completed 
then.  However  plausible  this  may,  at  first  sight,  appear,  it  is  not  the 
right  conclusion.  It  is  plain,  that  in  divine  proceedings,  the  extremesi 
measures  for  redemption  were  adopted  only  when  extremest  necessity 
arose  ;  and  that  the  Lord's  assumption  of  humanity  was  the  extremest, 
or  most  ultimate,  effort  for  this  purpose,  is  well  known.  The  fact  of  the 
antediluvians  having  perished  through  the  evils  which  obsessed  them,  is 
no  more  evidence  that  the  fall  had  reached  its  greatest  depth,  than  the 
crucifixion  of  the  thief,  is  a  proof  that  he  was  the  worst  of  men.  The 
extinction  of  the  antediluvians,  shows,  that  there  were  some  circum- 
stances peculiar  to  their  case,  and  not  the  completeness  of  the  fall. 
Their  minds  were  originally  constituted  for  the  reception  of  heavenly 
influences  by  an  internal  way,  and  it  was  the  efiectual  closing  up  of  that 
way,  and  so  preventing  the  entrance  of  those  influences,  which  brought 
about  the  deluge ;  when  men  ceased,  as  it  were,  to  respire  with  heaven, 
they  perished;  but  there  was  another,  or  more  external  way,  for  the 
admission  of  holy  things  into  the  human  mind,  which  not  being  opened 
out  with  the  antediluvians,  they  could  not  pervert ;  and,  as  this  perver- 
sion is  requisite  to  the  idea  of  the  completeness  of  the  fall  of  man,  it  is 
plain,  that  it  was  not  effected  in  the  antediluvian  age.  This  more  exter- 
nal way  for  the  entrance  of  spiritual  things  into  the  human  mind,  began 
to  operate  with  the  Noetic  people,  and  belonged  to  the  new  covenant 
that  was  established  with  them ;  and  it  was  only  when  this  external  way 
for  the  Lord's  admission  into  man,  was  about  to  be  closed,  which  was  the 
case  at  the  period  of  His  advent  into  'the  world,  as  the  internal  way  had 
previously  been  by  the  antediluvian  people,  that  the  fall  became. com- 
pleted. The  enormities  of  the  ancient  world,  therefore,  oppose  no  real 
vdifficulties  to  the  doctrine,  which  maiatains  the  fall  to  have  reached  its 

reatest  depth  when  God  became  manifest  in  the  flesh. 


EVIL   SPIRITS    POSSESSING    MANKIND.  381 

operating  upon  the  mind,  were  capable  of  producing  such  a  phys-, 
ical  result,  because  we  live  under  an  economy,  in  which  the  Re- 
deemer has  mercifully  provided  against  the  return  of  events,  which 
might  have  afforded  illustrative  evidence  and  examples.  Yet  they 
are  not  entirely  without  a  witness,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  first  means  which  were  adopted  to  prevent  the  recurrence 
of  such  a  calamity,  was  the  reconstruction  of  the  human  mind,  by 
the  separation  of  the  will  from  the  understanding,  and  thereby 
making  provision  for  the  security  of  remains.  This  means,  al- 
though, up  to  a  certain  period,  it  realized  the  promise  that  "  All 
flesh  should  not  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood,"  yet 
it  was  not  a  full  and  complete  preventive  against  its  possibility. 
For  we  find  that  evil  influences  from  the  infernal  world  did  again 
obtain  an  ascendancy  over,  at  least  a  certain  portion,  of  the  human 
race,  at  the  time  of  the  advent  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  since  it 
is  written,  "  For  this  purpose  was  the  Son  of  God  manifested,  that 
he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil ; "  (1  John  iii.  8  ;)  and  he 
said,  "  I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might 
have  it  more  abundantly."  (John  x.  10.)  At  this  time,  the  Gos- 
pels inform  us  of  several  instances,  in  which  evil  spirits  had  not 
only  taken  possession  of  the  minds,  but  had  obsessed  the  very 
bodies  of  mankind,  so  as  to  endanger  their  physical  existence. 
We  will  only  advert  to  two  examples.  When  Jesus  went  "into 
the  country  of  the  Gergesenes,  there  met  him  two  possessed  with 
devils,  coming  out  of  the  tombs,  exceeding  fierce,  so  that  no  man 
might  pass  by  that  way ; "  these  were  cast  out,  and  they  entered 
into  a  herd  of  swine,  which  ran  "  into  the  sea  and  perished  in  the 
waters."  (Matt.  viii.  28-32.)  And  again,  one  of  the  multitude 
brought  unto  Jesus  his  son,  who  had  a  dumb  spirit,  "  and  when  he 
saw  him,  straightway  the  spirit  tore  him,  and  he  fell  on  the  ground 
and  wallowed,  foaming  ;  —  and  oft-times  it  cast  him  into  the  fire, 
and  into  the  water  to  destroy  him."  (Mark  ix.  17  -  22.)  These 
facts,  taken  in  connection  with  the  circumstance,  that  the  Lord 
was  manifested  to  destroy  such  works  ;  they  being  phenomena 
which  were  peculiar  to  the  time,  and  of  considerable  prevalence, 
(for  the  apostles  state,  as  one  of  the  consequences  of  their  minis- 
try, that  the  devils  were  subject  to  them  through  the  Lord's  name,) 
afford  us  historical  evidence  of  an  unquestionable  kind,  that  infer- 
nal influences  were  capable  of  compassing  even  the  physical  ex- 
tinction of  society,  when  it  has  voluntarily  sunk  into  perversities 
and  lusts.  But  by  the  redemption  which  the  Lord  effected,  and 
by  the  glorification  of  His  Humanity,  which  was  accomplished  in 


322  ANTEDILirVIAN    HISTOEr. 

the  process  of  that  work,  a  safe  provision  and  complete  bamer 
has  been  raised,  against  the  return  of  such  a  state  of  things,  and 
therefore  it  is,  that  they  are  happily  not  within  the  experiences  of 
Christian  society.  But  that  it  was,  in  some  measure,  suffered  by 
society  at  the  period  of  the  Lord's  coming,  is  very  evident,  and 
we  adduce  this  circumstance  merely  to  illustrate  the  idea  of  dire- 
ful persuasions  opening  in  man,  channels  for  tlie  reception  of  that 
malignant  and  suffocating  influx,  by  which  we  conceive  the  ante- 
diluvians to  have  perished.  Surely,  every  one  may  see,  that  when 
men  are  so  separated  from  the  Divine  principle,  that  they  possess 
no  spiritual  life  therefrom^  but  are  merely  in"  ^^nced  by  natural 
impulses,  similar  to  those  of  beaoL^,  ..iiat  no  society  can  he  formed 
and  governed  by  the  laws  of  use  and  order ;  because  when  men 
are  of  suc^  ":.,ture,  and  so  without  heavenly  influences,  they 
become,  as  it  were,  insane,  and  rush  openly  into  the  commission 
of  every  evil  one  against  another,  acquiring  stimulus  thereto  from 
an  infernal  origin,  in  which  case  tiie  human  race  must  perislu 

This,  indeed,  is  going  directly  to  the  root  of  the  catastrophe  ; 
but,  upon  more  general  principles,  it  must  be  conceded,  that  "  evil 
will  slay  the  wicked,"  at  least,  as  to  all  spiritual  hopes  and  happi- 
ness;  (Psalm  xxxiv.  21 ;)  and  surely,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  this, 
when  manifested  in  the  life  with  mirestrained  malignity,  must  bring- 
about  the  physical  destruction  of  the  society  Avith  whom  it  prevails. 
The  truth  of  this  idea  is  known  and  acknowledged.  Most  jTersons 
are  acquainted  with  cases,  in  which  individuals  have  brought  on 
their  own  death,  by  the  pursuit  of  criminal  indulgences.  How 
many  of  our  race  perish  annually  from  drunkenness  and  other  enor- 
mities I  How  much  more  extensive  would  this  calamity  become, 
if  it  were  not  for  counteracting  influences  ?  That  which  can  sweep 
away  an  individual,  may  carry  off  a  connnunity.  And  has  it  not 
done  so?  What  says  autlientic  liistory  upon  the  subject?  It 
shows  us  many  cities,  yea,  whole  nations,  which  have  been  s.wept 
out  of  the  map  of  existence,  and  of  which,  nothing  but  tlie  scanty 
vestiges  of  ruin,  remain  to  mark  their  profligacy,  or  chronicle  their 
end !  How  many  lands  have  been  depopulated  through  the  de- 
pravity and  ignorance  of  its  inhabitants  \  How  has  Nineveh  bo- 
come  a  waste,  and  Babylon  a  desolation  ?  The  prophets  answer, 
and  say,  it  was  the  wickedness  of  their  inhabitants.  (See  Jcr. 
chaps,  xlix.  and  1. ;  ^nd  Nahum  throughout.)  The  blinding  of  their 
eyes,  and  the  hardening  of  their  hearts,  having  led  them  to  a  for- 
getfulness  of  God,  and  a  disregard  to  tlieir  neighbor,  also  o|)ened 
out  innmnerable  channels  for  the  admission  of  principles  and  the 
performance  of  acts,  by  which  destructions  came.  While,  then, 
Ave  hold  that  the  flood  consisted  in  the  direful  influences  of  evil 
and  false  principles,  by  which  the  light  of  religion  Avas  extinguished, 
and  the  emotions  of  virtue  destroyed  ;  we  also  conceive  that  they 
were  productive  of  characteristics  and  proceedings,  Avhich  were 
dangerous  to  personal  safety,  and  consequently,  that  they  were,  as 
external  causes,  the  means  of  sweeping  from  natural  existence  a 
peculiarly  profligate  and  abandoned  race.  The  manner  in  Avhich 
lese  causes  operated  to  dissolve  society  and  terminate  its  existence, 
doubtless,  very  various.    Evil  is  diversified  in  all  its  kinds,  and 


CONCLUSION.  323 

displays  its  malignity  in  a  multitude  of  ways,  all  of  which  are 
tnore  or  less  fatal  in  their  results  to  the  people  in  whom  they  inhere. 
The  narrative,  however,  does  not  deal  with  external  causes ;  it 
treats  qf  those  which  are  primary  in  such  results ;  consequently, 
of  man  having  ceased  to  live  according  to  the  order  of  heaven, 
and  thereby,  of  his  hayii-..  '"^ecome  the  subject  of  temptations,  in 
which  his  moral  sentimpiit-  nd  religious  life  were  finally  over- 
whelmed. Hereby,  "/  :I  itv^  hose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  life, 
of  all  that  was  in  the  dry  land,  died."  (Gen.  vii.  22.)  Those,  in 
whose  nostrils  wa3  the  breath  of  life,  were  the  people  who  had 
-constituted  the  most  ancient  church  during  the  time  of  its  integrity. 
They  it  was,  of  whom  it  is  written,  the  Lord  God  breathed  into 
their  nostrils  the  breath  of  lives ;  (Gen.  ii.  7 ;)  which  means,  the 
implantation  of  love,  and  faith  originating  therein :  these  principles, 
as  we  have  seen,  were  successively  abandoned  and  destroyed,  and 
now,  the  seeds  thereof,  which  had  been  hereditarily  transmitted  to 
the  last  posterity  of  the  antediluvian  community,  were,  by  them, 
entirely  extinguished.  Wherefore  it  is  said,  every  thing  died  in 
whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  lives  :  and  hence  it  follows,  that 
all  who  were  in  the  dry  land,  perished,  because,  thereby  is  repre- 
sented those  who  had  become,  as  it  were,  parched  with  lusts,  and 
in  whom  there  were  none  of  the  remains  of  celestial  and  spiritual 
life.  Every  thing  of  this  character  passed  away,  and  thereby  the 
cessation  of  the  people  with  whom  it  took  place.  "  Npah  only  re- 
mained alive,  and  they  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark : "  (Gen.  vii. 
23:)  the  reason  is,  as  previously  intimated,  because  the  Noetic 
people  found  grace  iij  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  and  were  righteous  in 
his  sight.  The  grace  denoted  ,that  they  retained  some  truth,  their 
righteousness  shows  that  they  possessed  some  good ;  and  these 
were  the  principles  which  enabled  them  to  erect  the  ark,  collect 
the  fowls  and  beasts,  rise  above  the  waters  of  temptation,  and 
receive  the  covenant  which  God  established,  for  the  purpose  of 
commencing  an  entirely  new  dispensation  of  divine  things,  as  the 
Adamic  or  most  ancient  church  had,  after  innumerable  corruptions, 
divisions,  and  perversities,  passed  away  in  the  manner  we  have 
described. 

And  here  we  terminate  our  exposition  of  the  most  remarkable 
events  recorded  in  the  first  seven  chapters  of  Genesis.  We  have 
endeavored  to  show,  that  they  were  not  written  to  express  that 
literal  sense,  which  they  are  commonly  understood  to  do.  We 
have  regarded  the  history  as  purely  figurative,  not  only  because 
such  a  mode  of  expressing  spiritual  and  intellectual  subjects,  was 
common  to  mankind  in  the  early  ages  of  enlightened  society,  but 
also,  because  such  a  method  of  indicating  internal  and  spiritual 
things  of  the  church,  is  in  agreement  with  the  divine  style  of  com- 
munication evinced  throughout  the  whole  Word;  and  likewise, 
because  this  kind  of  composition,  is  eminently  adapted  for  portray- 
ing those  invisible  principles,  by  means  of  appropriate  represen- 
tatives and  correspondences,  chosen  from  the  world  of  nature  ■ — 
the  figures  employed  not  being  the  analogies  of  human  rhetoric, 
but  types  of  the  divine  selection. 

This  being  the  ground  we  have  taken  for  the  explications  wo 


324  ANTEDILUVIAN    HlSTOPtr. 

have  not  hesitated  to  produce  many  of  the  difficulties,  which  ob- 
vioiisly  surround  the  common  views  of  the  subjects  discussed,  be- 
cause we  were  desirous  of  showing-  to  those  who  hold  such  views, 
the  inconsistencies  they  have  to  encounter,  and  the  contradictions 
they  must  believe,  if  they  will  retain  them. 

These  difficulties,  however,  are  not  to  be  understood -as  beinjr 
ur^ed  against  the  narratives  themselves ;  but  only  ag-ainst  thil 
wliich  we  conceive  to  be  their  erroneous  interpretation.  We  repeat 
this,  that  the  reader,  in  drawing  his  conclusions,  may  discriminate 
between  our  belief  in  the  divine  character  of  tlie  documents  them- 
selves, and  our  disbelief  of  those  opinions,  which  they  have  been 
supposed  to  express.  The  path  which  we  have  pursued  in  this  in- 
vestigution,  effectually  avoids  all  their  difficulties,  and  nmintiiins 
throughout  a  rational  consistency  and  religious  character. 

We  have  seen,  that  those  early  portions  of  the  Word,  treat  of 
the  rise  and  perfection  of  the  most  ancient  church,  which  was  pre- 
eminently Man,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  intelligence  of  love.  We 
next  contemplated  the  existence  of  the  sensual  principle,  pointing" 
out  the  nature  of  its  seduction,  and  the  decline  of  the  people.  Then, 
in  the  people  of  Cain  and  Abel,  we  saw  the  separation  of  faith  from 
charity,  with  their  respective  characteristics ;  also,  the  death  of 
charity,  by  which  faith  became  a  fugitive  and  vagabond  principle 
in  the  church ;  and  that  this  likewise  perished  in  the  time  of  tlio 
first  Lamech.  Afterwards,  it  was  shown  that  those  histories  reveal 
the  rise  of  heresies  in  a  variety  of  forms,  and  disclose  the  enor- 
mities of  the  imagination  and  heart,  of  which  they  were  productive 
among  mankind,  and  finally,  that  they  announce  an  awful  inunda- 
tion of  false  persuasions  and  evil  influences,  by  which  all  branches 
of  society  were  overwhelmed,  Avith  the  exception  of  the  Noetic  peo- 
ple, who  were  saved  from  the  catastrophe,  because  they  resisted 
and  conquered  those  temptations,  in  which  others  fell  and  perished. 

The  narrative  therefore,  is  a  consecutive  history  of  the  states, 
through  which  has  passed  the  most  distinguished  church  which  has 
ever  existed  upon  this  earth,  during  the  process  of  its  rise,  fall,  and 
extinction  —  the  extinction  of  a  celestial  church,  whose  primeval 
name  was  Adam,  and  which  was  succeeded  by  another,  of  a  spirit- 
ual quality,  under  the  appellation  of  Noah. 

Being  deeply  impressed  with  the  truth  of  these  views  of  the 
general  subject,  I  venture,  humbly,  to  urge  them  upon  the  serious 
attention  of  the  reader,  and  earnestly  to  solicit  him  carefully  and 
religiously  to  think  upon  them,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  some 
rational  and  consistent  conclusion ;  for,  most  certainly,  a  period  is 
advancing,  in  which  will  take  place,  a  complete  revolution  and 
thorough  change  of  popular  opinion,  concerning  the  meaning  of 
those  early  portions  of  the  Lord's  most  Holy  Word.  May  that 
change  be  effected  under  the  Divine  influence,  and  mankind  have 
their  eyes  opened  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  purer  light,  and  intellec- 
tually appreciate  the  wonderful  things  contained  in  His  law. 


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